“It is unclear at this time how this deceased male might be connected with the vehicle fire or the two missing men,” RCMP spokesperson Dawn Roberts said in a news release.
The incident came just a few days after the bodies of a young couple were discovered on the side of a highway in northern British Columbia, roughly 292 miles away from where the body was discovered Friday. While authorities have not said there’s any connection between the two incidents, officials acknowledged Sunday there are “growing community concerns” about the ongoing homicide investigations in the region.
A red and grey Dodge pickup truck and sleeping camper driven by Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky was found abandoned and on fire south of the Stikine River Bridge on Highway 37 on Friday. An unidentified male body was found nearby at a nearby highway pullout. (Dease Lake RCMP)The Dease Lake incident took place Friday, while the killings of Chynna Deese and Lucas Fowler are believed to have taken place between July 14 and 15, according to police.
“At this time, investigators are sharing information and police would like to ensure awareness around both investigations,” Roberts said. “The RCMP would ask the public to continue to take any general safety precautions and remain vigilant at this time. We also remind travelers to share your plans with family and friends, establish check-in times and notify someone if your plans change.”
The couple was traveling in an older blue Chevrolet van that Fowler had fixed up for the planned through trip Canada and were killed near Liard Hot Springs, a popular tourist destination. Deese’s mother, Sheila Deese, told CBC News that authorities said her daughter had been shot.
“While I want to know the details, it’s not going to change my outcome at all,” she told CBC. “My outcome is I have one less child.”
Chynna Deese, 24, of North Carolina, and her boyfriend, Lucas Fowler, of Australia were murdered in British Columbia, Canada last Sunday or Monday. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)While RCMP has not yet released details about what happened prior to the couple’s killing, Canadian Sandra Broughton told her Facebook followers Wednesday that she and her husband saw the couple’s van Sunday broken down on the side of the highway and asked if they needed help.
“Curtis (being the helpful mechanic ) usually stops and asks if everyone is ok and if they need help,” she wrote. “Yes, he contacted the RCMP and let them know that we see and talked to them after we left the hot springs.”
DAUGHTER DECAPITATED MOTHER IN AUSTRALIA HOME IN FRONT OF 4-YEAR-OLD GRANDSON, POLICE SAY
A road worker who was in the region at the time told Nine News Australia she saw a bearded man last Sunday night who appeared to be arguing with the couple hours before they were found dead.
“To me he kind of looked frustrated or something,” Alandra Hull said. “Like he was just kind of standing like this and just looking at them.”
Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend Chynna Deese are shown in a handout photo. Both were found dead on an isolated highway in northern British Columbia last week. (New South Wales Police Force.)Hull said the couple appeared to be bothered by the man, and the interaction made her uneasy.
“If you just get a bad feeling, and that’s what I had, you just don’t stop,” Hull told Nine News. She added that police have also asked her to work with a composite artist to create a sketch of the man she saw speaking with the couple Sunday evening.
On Sunday, Canadian authorities insisted the body found nearby the burning truck was not related to the murdered couple.
“We have nothing to indicate their deaths are linked to any other active and ongoing investigations in the area of the province, or that there is a heightened risk to public safety,” RCMP spokeswoman Janelle Shoihet told reporters.
But family members of the murdered couple said that answer wasn’t good enough.
“There is a huge safety concern for people traveling in Canada, in or around that area this summer and right now,” Deese’s brother, British Deese, told CTV News.
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In the case of the now-missing teenagers, RCMP said the Kam and Bryer have periodically connected with family and friends over the past week, but “it is possible that they are now in area without cell coverage.”
“We are asking for Kam or Bryer to connect with police right away and let us know you are okay. Or, we ask that anyone who may have spoken to or seen them over the last few days to call police so we can get a better understanding as to where they might be or their plans,” Roberts said.
Both teenagers are described as roughly 6-foot-4 and weighing 169 pounds, according to police. McLeod has dark brown hair and facial hair and brown eyes, while Schmegelsky has sandy brown hair.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the teenagers or their travels before the vehicle was found burning is asked to contact the Dease Lake RCMP at 250-771-4111, Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or by leaving a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net.
Fox News’ Robert Gearty contributed to this report.
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