Canada: two teens thought missing named as suspects in double murder | World news

Canadian police have identified two teenagers who were previously feared missing as suspects in the double murder of Lucas Fowler, 23, and Chynna Deese, 24, on a remote highway in northern British Columbia.

Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18 were considered missing persons in a potentially related case that happened several hours away on the same highway.

But a spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told reporters on Tuesday that the the pair are considered suspects in the murders of Fowler and Deese – as well as that of a second unidentified man whose body was found several miles away from McLeod and Schmegelsky’s burning truck.

The two men have since been spotted in northern Saskatchewan, RCMP spokesperson Janelle Shoihet told the conference.

The pair are considered dangerous, Shoihet said. She said: “If you see them, do not approach, take no action, and immediately call 911.”

Fowler, from New South Wales in Australia and Deese, from North Carolina, were nearing the end of a two-week road trip to Alaska when their van broke down along the Alaska Highway about 20km south of Liard River Hot Springs provincial park, a popular tourist spot.

Their bodies were discovered by the roadside on 15 July, but it took three days for police to identify them. The RCMP believe they were killed sometime between 14 July and 15 July.

On Friday, four days after the bodies of Deese and Fowler were discovered, police in the town of Dease Lake – several hours’ drive south – launched a search for McLeod, and Schmegelsky, after their truck was discovered in flames near the town. The two youths had been travelling to Whitehorse in the Yukon in search of work.

During the search for McLeod and Schmegelsky, the body of another man was found two kilometres down the road, the RCMP said. The man has not yet been identified.

More details to follow …