Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese were 'in love' and on the trip of a lifetime. Photo / AP
Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese were 'in love' and on the trip of a lifetime. Photo / AP
Two friends wanted for the murders of Aussie Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend are self taught survivalists who trained in the woods.
Two lifelong friends wanted over the grisly murders of three people, including an Australian and his American girlfriend, on a lonely Canadian highway had trained intensively in "war and camouflage", the father of one of the suspects says.
Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, have been missing since their Dodge pick-up truck was found abandoned and on fire on the Alaska Highway — also known as Highway 37 — in northern British Columbia on July 19.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) today confirmed McLeod and Schmegelsky are prime suspects in the murders of Sydney man Lucas Fowler, 23, and his girlfriend Chynna Deese, 24, last week.
The remote highway where Lucas Fowler Chynna Deese broke down according to Curtis and Sandra Broughton, who last saw them alive on Sunday afternoon. Photo / News Corp Australia
The couple had been travelling through northern British Columbia on a dream road trip when they were found shot to death alongside their blue Chevrolet mini-van on July 15.
Curtis and Sandra Broughton, who are believed to be among the last people to have seen Mr Fowler and Ms Deese alive, have told police of assisting the pair after their van broke down on the side of the road on July 14.
On July 19, a third person, an unidentified male aged between 50 to 60, was found dead two kilometres from the teens' burnt out Dodge.
Investigators have linked the teens to all three murders and have warned the public they should "consider them armed and dangerous".
This morning Schmegelsky's father Alan gave an emotional but revealing interview with a local news outlet in which he admitted to having gifted his son an Airsoft replica gun for Christmas at the boy's request.
He said Bryer had told him he and Kam had been "training in war" in the woods for more than two years and were masters of camouflage.
"My son he's like, they're huge into video games — all kids are — and two Christmases ago he asked me for an Airsoft gun, which is a replica gun, right?" Mr Schmegelsky told CHEK News.
"So he was telling me: 'well me and the fellas, we like to go in the woods and play war' right?"
"So knowing that the both of them are totally into that, if there was any threat, they would have done what they've actually trained themselves to do and they would have camouflaged themselves in the woods."
Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese were 'in love' and on the trip of a lifetime. Photo / AP
Lucas Fowler and girlfriend Chynna Deese were very much in love, their families say. Photo / News Corp Australia
Lucas Fowler's father, NSW Police chief inspector Stephen Fowler told reporters of the murders: 'It's the worst kind of love story'. Photo / News Corp Australia
Fighting back tears, Mr Schmegelsky clarified his comments by saying he did not believe the teens killed anyone but had instead witnessed the unidentified man's murder and fled in fear of their lives.
"All I can think of is that they were at the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.
"They're both kids, they not violent, they're good people, never got in trouble or anything right? I'm thinking a murder was committed two kilometres away and somebody decided: 'let's take care of the witnesses'.
"I talked to RCMP at 5.41am this morning and they told me it (the unidentified man's body) was not my son and it was not his friend. They were able to identify the body as not either of them. So I'm thinking they're at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"If there is any hope Bryer and Kam are alive it's because they play Airsoft and they would have gone into the woods and they know how to hide because they've been doing it for two and a half years. I say, as a dad, those two boys are still out there. Go find them."
SUSPECT'S FINAL MESSAGE TO DAD
Mr Schmegelsky said the last contact he had from the teens was a text message from his son on July 12.
It read: "We are going to Alberta today so I won't have internet for a while. I'll talk to you when I can", he told CHEK News.
"Now, he (Bryer) has relatives who live in Red Deer (Alberta), so I just assumed that's where they were going. I find out my kid was in northern BC (British Columbia) this morning, OK?
"They're kids on an adventure, they're good boys, they've been friends since elementary school. They just did five weeks of working at Walmart. They just graduated and their first job, they said: 'this isn't cutting it. Lets go find the real money. Alberta is where the money is at'."
RCMP have yet to identify the third victim, a man thought to be aged in his 50s or 60s found dead around two kilometres from the teens' abandoned burning Dodge on July 19.
Investigators have released a sketch of the dead man, who had a beard and a receding hairline.
They have also released a likeness of a man seen talking to Mr Fowler on Highway 37 on the evening of July 14. The drawing bears some resemblance to McLeod.
Investigators want to speak to the man to learn more about Mr Fowler and Ms Deese's activities in the lead up to their murder.
They have said he may be associated with an older model Jeep Cherokee with a black stripe on the hood and a black light/bull bar with small covered lights.
Meanwhile, the hunt for Shmegelsky and McLeod continues. They are believed to be driving a grey 2011 Toyota RAV 4 and were last seen in northern Saskatchewan.
Late Tuesday, the Manitoba Mounties put out an alert that there was reason to believe the teens may be in the area of Gillam, a town in northern Manitoba.
"We are asking the public: if you spot Kam or Bryer, consider them dangerous," Sergeant Janelle Shoihet said during a press conference from the Lower Mainland on Tuesday.
"Take no action and immediately call 911."
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Kevin Hackett, and Sergeant Janelle Shoihet talk to the media. Photo / AP
