RCMP efforts to locate B.C. homicide suspects Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, after receiving a tip that they had been spotted near York Landing on the afternoon of July 28 had not led to the fugitives' capture as of 11 p.m. that night.
“Situation is ongoing,” RCMP said via social media around 7:40 a.m. July 29 “All possible RCMP resources continue to be used in the area of Yokr Landing to safely apprehend two individuals matching the description of the suspects.”
York Factory First Nation Chief Leroy Constant posted in a statement on Facebook at 8:41 p.m. Sunday that the suspects remained at large and that RCMP were remaining on scene with dogs, helicopters and the emergency response team assisting the search. At that time, heavy winds were limiting police’s ability to use aircraft to assist in the search.
“We are urging everyone to remain indoors with windows and doors locked,” Constant wrote. “Patrols of the community will be done on a 24 hour basis.”
“This is a fluid situation. Everyone wants this to end today in a safe and controlled manner. Our prayers are with the residents of York Factory,” said Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Grand Chief Garison Settee in an emailed press release around 8:20 p.m. July 28. “We encourage people living in the York Factory area to remain vigilant while the RCMP conduct their search for these two suspects If you think you see these suspects, please consider them as dangerous. Do not approach them. Contact the RCMP immediately.”
RCMP reported around 6 p.m. July 28 that police were being sent to York Landing to investigate a tip that McLeod and Schmegelsky, who are charged with one murder in B.C. and suspects in two others, had been sighted in or near the community of about 500 residents, which is south of Split Lake, approximately halfway between Thompson and Gillam, where the pair were last sighted July 22.
Police asked people in York Landing not to disclose officer locations on social media.
The people who reported seeing the two fugitives were members of the Winnipeg Bear Clan Patrol who travelled to First Nations in the area to conduct patrols and act as ambassadors while RCMP were going door-to-door in Fox Lake Cree Nation and in Gillam starting July 27, where Bryer and Schmegelsky were last seen July 22.
“They saw two guys near the dump and at first it didn’t strike them as odd because they thought it was associated with the work going on at the water treatment plant,” Bear Clan Patrol executive directors James Favel told Global News. "When they noticed the truck associated with those activities wasn’t present then they kind of went ‘Uh oh, this might be something else,’ so then they were careful to get a description of the gentleman that they saw, their exact location and the direction of travel after that and it seems to have helped the search."
RCMP reported about 4 p.m. Sunday that they had completed door-to-door canvassing in Fox Lake Cree Nation and would continue going door-to-door in Gillam, where they have already visited about 250 homes. They were also searching cottage, cabins, waterways and along the Hudson Bay Railway around Gillam for any signs of McLeod and Schmegelsky.
McLeod and Schmegelsky are wanted in connection with the killings of Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese, found dead on the Alaska Highway in B.C. July 15, and have been charged with second-degree murder in the death Leonard Dyck of Vancouver, whose body was found south of Dease Lake, B.C. July 19. Dyck’s body was discovered about two kilometres from a burnt-out camper truck that McLeod and Schmegelsky had been driving when they left Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, ostensibly on the way to Alberta to look for work. Manitoba RCMP said July 25 that they believe McLeod and Schmegelsky are still in the Gillam area, based upon two confirmed sightings prior to the pair’s burnt vehicle being discovered in the area July 22 and the fact that no vehicles in the area have been reported stolen.
While the search for McLeod and Schmegelsky remained centred in Gillam, police were not discounting the possibility the two might no longer be in the area, since there had been no new confirmed sightings in the previous four days.
“Our investigators are also exploring the possibility that the suspects may have inadvertently received assistance in leaving the area,” Manitoba RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Julie Courchaine said at a July 26 press conference. “There have been no confirmed sightings outside of the Gillam area [since July 22], however we remain open to the possibility.”
The suspects may have changed their appearance, police say.
RCMP said checkstops at the intersection of Provincial Road 280 and Provincial Road 290 to Fox Lake and Gillam, respectively, will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
The search is being assisted by the RCMP’s emergency response team, crisis negotiation team and air services assets, as well as the major crime unit, the RCMP North District and RCMP officers from other provinces.
Anyone who spots McLeod and Schmegelsky should call Gillam RCMP at 204-652-2200, Thompson RCMP at 204-677-6911 or 911 or their local police in other areas. RCMP said several sighting tips had been posted on social media before being reported to them over the previous few days, which can create a delay in investigating them.
