Manhunt continues: Police ‘have not been able to substantiate’ sighting of Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod in York Landing

Mon., July 29, 2019

VANCOUVER—Mounties searching for Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod in the northern Manitoba community of York Landing haven’t been able to confirm a sighting at the local dump, but vowed to maintain a presence in the area.
Despite what they described as an exhaustive search, the RCMP have “not been able to substantiate the tip in York Landing,” RCMP Manitoba tweeted Monday afternoon. “RCMP resources will continue to be in the York Landing and Gillam areas.”

The Mounties expanded the manhunt for McLeod, 19, and Schmegelsky, 18, on Sunday to York Landing, a tiny community of 450 people about a four-hour drive east of Gillam. The two men from Port Alberni, B.C., are suspects in the deaths of three people in northern B.C.

York Factory First Nation Chief Leroy Constant said there are about 30 police officers in the remote Manitoba community, along with a dog team, emergency response teams, helicopters and armed men on all-terrain vehicles. He said a sense of fear will remain until the two suspects are captured or the community is deemed safe.

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James Favel, executive director of the Bear Clan Patrol, said volunteers spotted what they believed to be the two suspects near York Landing’s dump on Sunday afternoon. They called the RCMP and returned to patrol the village.
The Indigenous-led community-safety group, based in Winnipeg, co-ordinated teams to fly to York Factory, War Lake, and Fox Lake First Nations after it was approached by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. In a statement on Saturday, the assembly criticized the need for Bear Clan volunteers to step in.

“It is unfortunate that we do not have a strong First Nations police force in our Manitoba First Nations communities, which is due to the Manitoba government withholding adequate funding in recent years,” Acting Grand Chief Sheldon Kent said in the statement. “Yet we are thankful for the Bear Clan Patrol, for their willingness to fill in this gap that the province created.”
Last week McLeod and Schmegelsky were charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, 64, a sessional instructor at the University of British Columbia’s department of botany, whose body was found July 19 close to Highway 37 near Dease Lake, B.C.

They are also suspects in the shooting deaths of Lucas Fowler, a 23-year-old Australian man, and his 24-year-old American girlfriend Chynna Noelle Deese, who were found on the side of the Alaska Highway south of the B.C. — Yukon border on July 15.
RCMP Staff Sergeant Janelle Shoihet said no new charges had been laid as of Monday.

The Royal Canadian Air Force is assisting with the search, which is complicated by the terrain — forests, muskeg and waterways — as well as high winds.
Shortly after noon on Monday, York Factory First Nation Chief Leroy Constant said a Hercules plane had arrived. The heavy aircraft, used for search-and-rescue efforts as well as transporting cargo and as many as 78 personnel, are known for their ability to make short takeoffs and landings on unprepared runways.

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Constant said he would be surprised if the fugitives made it to his community on foot.
“You would have to go many miles to reach anything,” he said. “One of the challenges is it’s heavily wooded and we are primarily surrounded by water … there’s only limited areas they can access.”
According to a Facebook post from Constant, the RCMP used helicopters, dogs and their emergency response team Sunday to try and catch the suspects in York Landing.
Officers continue to search the York Landing area on Sunday evening, but he said heavy winds were limiting the use of helicopters and drones.
“We are urging everyone to remain indoors with windows and doors locked,” Constant wrote.
Police are asking members of the public not to post photos of RCMP in the community because it could reveal officers’ locations.
York Landing resident Rhonda Saunders first heard about the police presence in a Facebook message from her family Sunday afternoon.
“It’s making me nervous — I can hear choppers right now,” she told The Star yesterday. “I think there’s two of them patrolling the area.”
Police, with the help of the military, are continuing the search for the two suspects in the Gillam area as well.
“Officers are searching cottages, cabins, waterways and along the rail line for any signs of the suspects. This search of remote areas is being conducted both on foot and in the air. The terrain is immense and varied (with) lakes, ponds, muskeg etc.,” the RCMP statement said.

By Alex McKeenStar Vancouver
Joanna ChiuStar Vancouver
Tessa VikanderStar Vancouver
Wanyee LiStar Vancouver
Brennan DohertyStar Calgary

With a file from The Canadian Press

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