I've been browsing the no-discussion media, maps, information thread (a superb resource BTW!) in another part of this site,
MEDIA, MAPS, TIMELINE *NO DISCUSSION* Lucas Fowler, Chynna Deese, Leonard Dyck, BC, July 2019
and one of the items is exactly what I have been seeking, a map which shows what appears to be the location of the burned RAV4
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/attachments/upload_2019-7-31_13-19-47-png.196049/
I went seeking good imagery of that area, and so far, Bing maps gives me the best I've yet found. I'm going to try to link what I think it the precise spot.
Hrmmm, can't find a way to do that. However, here are the coordinates. 56.5158, -94.16349 If you got to bing maps
Maps and past in those coordinates, it seems to work.
In one of the first photos of the burned RAV4 (the one first posted on social media, so I have no idea if I can link or post it here) you can see power lines. There appear to be telephone poles and the usual power line brush cut alongside this road. So, I think this, or at least close to it, is the location.
Now, for the reason why (speculation follows). This location is very, very close to some housing at Fox Lake, and also very close to the hydro project at the Nelson River (Limestone generating dam, approx 1 mile ESE of the RAV4 site). The RAV4 site is also just across the dirt road from some side tracks of the Hudson Railway (the Bing maps don't show the actual main line, just the side tracks for some reason, but google maps shows the main line).
So, within one mile of the RAV4 burn site, in this largely uninhabited wilderness, we see residential housing approx. 1 mile WSW (Bird), and a major hydro site, and also a quarry site for the railroad (at the end of that dirt road). There appear to be quite a lot of vehicles at the hydro site in the sat photo.
In other words, the spot the suspects chose to burn the RAV4 is the most populated and infrastructure-rich spot on the entirety of road 280 and 290 (excluding the branch that goes south of the river to Gillam). It is also just 100 yards from the Hudson Bay railway main line. My speculation is that this location was not coincidental - there are plenty of other spots between there and the end of the road where they could have torched the RAV4, places where it would have taken longer to be noticed, giving them added time to escape on foot if that was their intent.
Now, for the timeline. The RAV4 was found burning (and thus soon after being lit on fire) on the evening of July 23rd. July 23rd was a Tuesday. The suspects had been seen by the tribal officers at Split Lake alcohol checkpoint the prior day. Earlier on July 23rd, KM and BS had been publicly identified as suspects by the RCMP. I suspect they might have heard about this on the car radio, which prompted the burning of the RAV4.
Since the burning of the RAV4, no further confirmed sightings or evidence of their presence has been released. The search in the Gillam area reportedly began late on July 24th, a Wednesday. I'm basing this on the timeline in the media thread, media reports, plus the fact it would take the RCMP time to get people and vehicles on the ground and in sufficient numbers in the area, due to distance.
Now, train schedules. That rail line carries both passenger and freight service. Here is a link to the overview of the Hudson Bay railway, listing what that line (from The Pas to Churchill) is used for;
http://omnitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/HBRY-brochure.pdf
The listing includes; "Major customers for HBRY include Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting, Tolko
Manitoba, Gardewine North, Imperial Oil, Petro Canada, Stittco Energy, and
the Canadian Wheat Board. Wheat and durum marketed by the Canadian
Wheat Board as well as other crops grown in Western Canada are exported
through the HBRY's affiliate, the Hudson Bay Port Company
, which is located at the northern terminus of the railway."
That indicates quite a bit of freight train traffic to the northern terminus (Churchill). It is also only one line, so any train heading up it must also return via that same line.
I have not, yet, been able to find any kind of a schedule for the freight trains, aside from an indicator from last year that one of them arrives in Churchill on Tuesdays.
As for the passenger service, on page 26 of this schedule,
https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/media/pdfs/schedules/VIARail_Timetable.pdf
it shows that in addition to the regular weekly service, there is a train (the 690) leaving Churchill at 19:30 (7:30 PM) on Tuesdays, passing through Bird (Fox Lake) at 4:00AM Wednesday, and then having a half hour stop in Gillam at 5:00AM, and arriving first at Thompson at 11:30 and The Pas at 23:30 (11:30PM).
So, between the time of the burning of the RAV4 (Tuesday evening) and the search in the Gillam area starting to kick off late Wednesday, a passenger train passed in the dark within yards of the RAV4 site, heading south, through curves, bridges, and terrain where it would have to go slow. (on many segments of that track, muskeg settling distorts the rails and causes the passenger train to slow to under 10mph, which would make jumping aboard easy). Likewise, it appears that freight trains pass through on that same line several times a week.
Either way, passenger train or freight, the suspects could reach Thompson or The Pas. I suspect that by the time they could reach The Pas, RCMP would have someone keeping an eye out at the rail yard, but they could simply jump a mile or so out of town, where the train would be going quite slow. It's worth bearing in mind that the suspects would have had ample time to think all this through, even if they are a bit slow on the uptake.