Canada - Lucas Fowler, Chynna Deese, and Leonard Dyck, all murdered, Alaska Hwy, BC, Jul 2019 #13

[Seattle1]

I follow the Alberta police, BC Highway Services and other various official pages on Facebook, but can’t link to anything as it’s not an acceptable link sorry.

Got it!

Don't do fb but I'm also shocked at what comes out of Alberta RCMP that is completely ignored by others including media.

 

[Kubirai]

He obviously didn't know anything about his family or his roots, so he made it up. He wanted an identify to hang his hat. He didn't have one, so he made one up.

Schmegelsky surname is more likely in Ukraine, but can also be found in Russia and Poland.

 

[MistyWaters]

From the same article - we learn this:

What led police to first suspect Schmegelsky and McLeod?

The RCMP have previously told Star Vancouver that a tip changed the status of the two men from “missing persons” to “suspects” on July 23 — and it was very sudden. What was that tip?

Yeah -- what was the tip?

I could be wrong but I think it was the tip involving the sighting of the previously considered missing pair at Meadow Lake, Sask including CCTV of the RAV4.

 

[JuneBug67]

I could be wrong but I think it was the tip was connected to the sighting of the previously considered missing pair at Meadow Lake, Sask including CCTV of the RAV4.

Thats what I have assumed as well. I also could be wrong.

 

[otto]

I don't think RCMP have said *anything* about surveillance photos of the area, ever. That entire subject is merely conjecture of this forum.

Aerial surveillance probably means photos. They surveilled the area a few days before they did a second sweep and identified the boat. Easier to check photos than memory.

"At the height of the pursuit, officers used aerial surveillance, drones and police dogs and canvassed every home and abandoned building, but no sightings of the fugitives have been confirmed since a burned-out Toyota RAV4 was found near Sundance Creek, northeast of Gillam, Man, on July 21.
...

According to the RCMP, helicopter operators discovered a damaged aluminum boat while looking for the two manhunt suspects"​

RCMP discover several items belonging to B.C. manhunt fugitives - The Post Millennial

 

[JuneBug67]

Otto suggested it was the fact they were spotted in a different province in the stolen RAV 4. Seems pretty plausible to me.

If LD was not yet known to be missing, his car wasn’t either.

 

[MistyWaters]

Medical examiner does the autopsy, all results are sent to lab and made available to RCMP. In this case, homicide investigation is BC jurisdiction, so they'll interpret the results in the context of other evidence.

True but it’s the autopsy which determines the medical cause and manner of death.

When is an Autopsy Necessary?
If the medical examiner cannot establish both the manner and the cause of death with reasonable medical certainty, an autopsy will be authorized.......The medical examiner will also authorize an autopsy if the death is part of a police investigation. The medical examiner does not require permission from the next of kin to proceed with an autopsy.

When Will the Body be released for Burial?
The medical examiner makes every effort to complete the investigation quickly and efficiently so the body can be released to the next of kin. When this occurs the family can then proceed with the funeral arrangements.
Justice | Province of Manitoba

 

[Seattle1]

The photo was taken long after police had seemingly finished collecting evidence from the burn site. I’ll try to enquire with my sources as to the keys current whereabouts.

Isn't it likely that the keys dislodged when the Rav4 was flipped getting it to the road? The flipped vehicle was in the same group of photos. I'd expect the photo would be immediately forwarded to RCMP and wait for instruction. MOO

 

[otto]

Otto suggested it was the fact they were spotted in a different province in the stolen RAV 4. Seems pretty plausible to me.

They were on CCTV in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, July 21 buying gas. July 22 the Rav4 was burning.

 

[aphoto]

Thanks...appreciated. The G&M presented the photo without any additional comment or context beyond, essentially, here are some keys at a crime scene. I didn’t see a follow up article. That’s not what I’d expect in the case of a clear police failure. Journalists would typically hold police feet to the fire on a matter like this and dig for answers. With what we know now, the simplest explanation may be that the keys that look like they could be old and significantly corroded are in fact old, and significantly corroded, and irrelevant. As far as I know, nobody has put their byline on a claim otherwise, at least to date.

I have seen a different picture of the keys posted elsewhere too. Multiple journalists and other people are known to have seen them. It was late in the game that I was in Gillam and I didn’t see the keys when I was at the burn site. Reporters can’t write articles containing purely speculation. There have been several articles, mostly by Australian media, about the blatant failures of the RCMP along the way. I guess they just didn’t know about the keys at the time of writing.

I’m still waiting to hear if the police collected the keys. I think it’s safe to assume they did as they weren’t there when I was standing around the burn site days after the pictures were taken.

 

[Kubirai]

Aerial surveillance probably means photos. They surveilled the area a few days before they did a second sweep and identified the boat. Easier to check photos than memory.

Canadian Air Force used two different surveillance aircrafts with various types of imagers. Terabytes of data to analyze later.

 

[aphoto]

Isn't it likely that the keys dislodged when the Rav4 was flipped getting it to the road? The flipped vehicle was in the same group of photos. I'd expect the photo would be immediately forwarded to RCMP and wait for instruction. MOO

The flipped car image was taken on a different day to the image of the keys. That I know with 100% certainty.

 

[scrappinkat]

I don't think RCMP have said *anything* about surveillance photos of the area, ever. That entire subject is merely conjecture of this forum.

They did aerial surveillance. Which is when they first saw the boat.

 

[FactFinder3000]

The best we have about the boat possibly not being there is this:

"The Globe & Mail reported that the boat was green, aluminum and flat-bottomed and that a red-and-white water container was found near it. An RCMP inspector said it had been through the rapids and was significantly damaged. It was found near in the lower Limestone rapids, an area that had last been searched by air three our four days ago. "

The thing is, just because the area was searched three or four days prior doesn't mean the boat wasn't there. They may have simply missed it.

Is it not possible to walk along the shore of that river? I'm somewhat surprised to learn they didn't search it on foot.

I am anxiously awaiting the autopsy results. I sure hope they give us an approximate time of death, because I have a feeling the personal items were sitting there the whole time, just waiting to be found.

RCMP divers conduct underwater search in Nelson River after damaged rowboat found

 

[Zella]

The Ukraine was part of Russia at one time...in fact it only became independent in 1991.

Correct, but Ukraine also has unwillingly been part of other countries and empires throughout its history but still has its own distinct culture, and many Ukrainians still view themselves as separate from Russians (though that can vary by region).

In any event, based on his father's story of his own grandparents fleeing WWII-era Ukraine, I'm assuming that any affinity BS felt for Nazism or Russia indicated to his dad that he was not familiar with his own family history.

 

[MistyWaters]

If LD was not yet known to be missing, his car wasn’t either.

I’ve always wondered if the two attempted to use LDs credit or debit card in Meadow Lake. Because it was soon after that the RCMP announced the 3rd victim had been identified pending notification of next of kin.

 

[otto]

If LD was not yet known to be missing, his car wasn’t either.

The suspects were considered to be missing persons. Their vehicle was found burning. They were asked to contact RCMP immediately. A missing person alert was put out for the 'missing' teens. RCMP were searching the Dease Lake area for them.

Two days later they were in Saskatchewan buying gas for the wrong vehicle.

 

[Seattle1]

If LD was not yet known to be missing, his car wasn’t either.

Exactly.

LD was a john doe, and whether his vehicle missing or not would also not be known.

However, I believe it was probably the teens themselves that were spotted in another Provence, and from their "missing persons" posts and publicity, that is what led to the tip. Not a stolen Rav4.

MOO

ETA: To clarify, I'm not referring to Split Lake, Meadows Lake, and Constable Check Stop sightings as they were never reported by these locations as sightings of the "missing persons."

The above all cited having seen the teens, but were not aware they were suspects since the notices did not go out until a day later.

I believe there was one "missing persons" sighting that was not widely disclosed, and this tip led police to believe they were suspects.

 

[JuneBug67]

I have seen a different picture of the keys posted elsewhere too. Multiple journalists and other people are known to have seen them. It was late in the game that I was in Gillam and I didn’t see the keys when I was at the burn site. Reporters can’t write articles containing purely speculation. There have been several articles, mostly by Australian media, about the blatant failures of the RCMP along the way. I guess they just didn’t know about the keys at the time of writing.

I’m still waiting to hear if the police collected the keys. I think it’s safe to assume they did as they weren’t there when I was standing around the burn site days after the pictures were taken.

An article noting that police neglected to collect potentially relevant evidence at a crime scene would not be speculative, it would be objectively stating what you seem to be presenting as facts. The G&M published the photo, but did not make any assertion to that effect. Unless and until there is additional information, we have to at least consider that there is a legitimate reason for the paper not to have done so.

 

[scrappinkat]

If LD was not yet known to be missing, his car wasn’t either.

John Doe was missing though. It sounds as if police attended the burning Dodge fairly quickly, it was a person who told them about the body (Len Dyck) on the side of the road a short distance away. Perhaps because of the police sketch asking for tips they reviewed highway cams or even talked to other witnesses who had been in the area linking John Doe to the RAV4. Once they had the RAV4 after it burnt the VIN# most likely helped them identify who their John Doe was.