Teens Sought in Canada Highway Murders Likely Hiding in Wilderness, Police Say

Alleged teen fugitives Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky are likely on foot as they continue to evade police while being sought for three murders in Canada, police said. 

Officials are combing the Gilliam area for any signs of McLeod, 19, and Schmegelsky, 18, lifelong friends who are suspected in the deaths of Australian Lucas Fowler and North Carolina native Chynna Deese, as well as Canadian Leonard Dyck. 

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are using dogs and drones in the search, which includes extremely rough terrain. "There’s lots of dense bush, forest, swampy area, so it is very challenging," RCMP Cpl. Julie Courchaine said, according to USA Today. 

Authorities said the two are believed to be hiding out in the wilderness because they initially were spotted in the Gillam area and there have been no reports of stolen cars. 

The discovery Monday of a burned-out car the pair were believed to be traveling in first pointed officials in the direction of Gillam. Officials have since confirmed two sightings of the teens, both of which occurred prior to the vehicle's discovery. 

In an emotional interview with The Canadian Press, Alan Schmegelsky, Bryer Schmegelsky's father, said he fears his son is on a "suicide mission."

“He wants his hurt to end," Alan said. "They’re going to go out in a blaze of glory. Trust me on this.”

Bryer’s father said he was “very introverted” and in “very serious pain,” having struggled after his parents divorced when he was 5 in 2005. He and his mother moved to the Vancouver Island community of Port Alberni, where he met McLeod on elementary school.

The pair became inseparable and were “good kids,” Alan said. 

Bryer had problems at home and briefly lived with his dad in Victoria when he was 16 before returning to Port Alberni to live with his grandmother, his father said. 

“His influences haven’t been good; his influences have been YouTube and video games,” Alan said.

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