Canada - Lucas Fowler, Chynna Deese, and Leonard Dyck, all murdered, Alaska Hwy, BC, Jul 2019 #16

[Strangeworld]

An Australian man and his American girlfriend have died in suspicious circumstances in Canada, sparking fears they may have been murdered.

Lucas Fowler is reported to be the son of senior NSW police officer, Inspector Stephen Fowler. He was found dead alongside his girlfriend, North Carolina woman Chynna Deese, in British Columbia earlier this week sparking fears of foul play.

Chynna’s sister Kennedy Deese wrote they pair were “homicide victims along a remote stretch of highway in Canada while on a road trip.”

An older style blue mini-van the pair was believed to have been travelling was found at the scene.

Canadian police are looking for anyone who saw the vehicle or offered assistance. They’re also appealing for anyone that travelled the stretch of highway around the time of the discovery to come forward, according to a RCMP media release.

Australian man found dead in Canada


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Thread #15 - Canada - Lucas Fowler, Chynna Deese, and Leonard Dyck, all murdered, Alaska Hwy, BC, Jul 2019 #15

 

[MassGuy]

The Manitoba Medical Examiner has completed the autopsies and confirmed that the two deceased men located in Manitoba on August 7, 2019 were Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky. Their next of kin have been notified and they have been offered support.

The RCMP can also confirm that the two died in what appears to be suicides by gunfire. While both individuals were deceased for a number of days before they were found, the exact time and date of their deaths are not known. However, there are strong indications that they had been alive for a few days since last seen in July and during the extensive search efforts in the Gillam area.

Police can also confirm that two firearms were also located with the two deceased males and forensic analysis is underway in order to definitively confirm that these weapons are connected with the northern BC homicide investigations. The Manitoba RCMP have completed their search of the area were the two male bodies were discovered, approximately 8 km from where Mr. Dyck’s burnt RAV4 was located on July 22, 2019.

Investigators are now assessing all items located in Manitoba, along with the previous findings related to the three northern BC homicide investigations, in order to gain more clarity into what happened to Leonard Dyck, Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese. The assessment will review all the investigative findings to date, whether it is statements, evidentiary time lines, physical or digital evidence, and the BC RCMP have also have engaged our Behavioural Analysis Unit (BAU).

The BC RCMP commits that once we have completed that review within the next few weeks, we will be providing the families with an update with respect to the totality of the investigations and then releasing the information publicly.

RCMP in British Columbia - Update – RCMP confirm cause of death and provide update on the Northern BC triple homicide investigations

 

[Optics]

Interesting, I had never heard the story about the boys spotted hitchhiking. I saw the store owner's interview that she had the Dodge pickup and camper on CCTV from the afternoon of July 18th but it was never released. Do you have a link for the store owner stating they were hitchhiking? That just blew my mind. What's more, the initial reports of the truck and camper on fire made it sound like it was right in the ditch on the side of the road. Then you start delving into photos of the whole scene and it looks like they drove off the road a few hundred feet into a fairly big pullout. It didn't look like a bad spot to camp for a few days and take a break from the road.

I don't think it was them hitchhiking, I think the mom of the girl who claims saw that was likely mistaken. It does not make sense.

 

[Optics]

Calvin White: Like many teens, Kam and Bryer were lost — and we should have noticed

Glad you posted this, I was just about to also. Good article.

 

[Zella]

I don't think it was them hitchhiking, I think the mom of the girl who claims saw that was likely mistaken. It does not make sense.

The logistics of them hitchhiking in the opposite direction don't make sense to me. If it was them, I imagine they abandoned it pretty quickly because it doesn't make sense. I can only imagine them trying to explain this to a prospective driver:

"Hey, now that you've picked up a rather tall teenaged stranger, will you turn around and go back and get my buddy--another rather tall teenaged stranger--walking the other way? Please?"

It would work better, I'd think, for one of them to hitch (probably Kam since he could drive and would be able to operate the vehicle if he seized control of it from someone) and the other to hide or for them to hitch together.

 

[SovereignSnake]

1. They weren't stupid men, they knew worst case scenario they would spend the rest of their lives in prison, to them that wasn't an option especially because 2 friends extremely close since childhood would never see each other again. They would have to also be 'accountable' - that wasn't an option in their heads. I feel to them it was the 'end of this level of life' on to the 'next level of life' - symbolic of video games where you progress through the levels.
2. Suicide by police in consideration of everything they did and some of what we know of their lives - if they deemed themselves survivalists of sorts - suicide by cops would be a weakness for these 'warriors'.
3. Suicide of their own hand - saved them from being accountable to anyone including shaming they knew they brought on their families. Suicide was on their terms - in their minds it signified success. Perhaps by leaving some of their items near the river - experiencing the extreme bushes - their hope was their bodies would never be found too. Though......even to the end their weird 'eff you mockings' like what they left at the Rav4, walking through a store they knew had surveillance, asking the clerk in Split Lake if its true they don't sell alcohol, etc. - maybe they wanted to be found at some point - but found dead.

On a bit of side note: I just get this feeling the two of them may have had an intimate relationship which they kept extremely secret from others. There is this unverified yet feeling their relationship was 'intimate' in some capacity. I hope when the report is released there will be some focus on what position their bodies were located in.

All excellent points and I agree 100%, they weren't just best friends I think they were lovers as well. Like if for example one of them got injured if they were indeed on that john boat, one would never leave the other even if it meant death.

 

[KR72]

Calvin White: Like many teens, Kam and Bryer were lost — and we should have noticed

I don't disagree with the sentiment that the two needed help and intervention as do many, many other teens and young people. I guess what my issue with the sympathy that these two are generating is that other young people in Canada aren't always offered the same.

Tina Fontaine, 15, was criminalized by Globe and Mail headlines and her bio family was heavily criticized by the public. I live in Winnipeg and heard firsthand the vile remarks. Winnipeg wasn't named Canada's most racist city for no reason.

Coulton Boushie at 22 wasn't much older than BS and KM wasn't portrayed sympathetically in the media.

Omar Khadr, who was 15 when he was detained, was demonized and portrayed as a terrorist mastermind even though he had been brainwashed and abused by his father since early childhood and was the only child soldier to be prosecuted by a military tribunal.

 

[CanadianMade]

This is just thinking with my finger tips(sometimes it helps the brain to type it all out).
These are the things I HOPE RCMP shares with us, but simply for my own selfish personal need to know what has happened:
1. The big question of what they actually have to link them to all 3 murders.
2. How they apparently committed suicide...we know they found guns there, but we don't know whether or not they had gunshot wounds that caused death.
3. Whether or not they ever confirmed if that armband photo was in fact sent by Bryer.
4. Whether or not they found anything to show the 'Why' of it all. Anything online, or a note like people seem to want.
5. Why that truck roof has a dent in it(we all have our own thoughts, so it would be nice if they clarified, though it may not even be useful information).
6. Where those keys that everyone went crazy about came from.
7. If they are able to confirm that they did kill Lucas and Chynna, I'd like to know if they ever attempted to light the van on fire.
8. What actually happened in York Landing to cause that video to be spread around briefly.
9. When, or if they ever actually brought in a cadaver dog(as we saw in the one PC, they stated there was not one there)
10. What they were doing in the Co-op in Meadow Lake. Did they steal anything? Did they use the washroom? Did they just want to get themselves on camera(I think they could have done this Anywhere along the way if that were the case)
11. WHO is the guy in the sketch, and why have they never mentioned him again?

This is what I Think they will tell us:

The investigation is on-going.


ETA: Rephrase on #11
I don't need to know Who that person is. Just want to hear them say that they have been in contact with them and the reason they do not deem them to be a suspect. This could be answered just with the answer to #1 but if not, I do hope to hear them clarify what is going on with that person.

 

[Moriarty]

Interesting, I had never heard the story about the boys spotted hitchhiking. I saw the store owner's interview that she had the Dodge pickup and camper on CCTV from the afternoon of July 18th but it was never released. Do you have a link for the store owner stating they were hitchhiking? That just blew my mind. What's more, the initial reports of the truck and camper on fire made it sound like it was right in the ditch on the side of the road. Then you start delving into photos of the whole scene and it looks like they drove off the road a few hundred feet into a fairly big pullout. It didn't look like a bad spot to camp for a few days and take a break from the road.

Sure thing. It was in the Globe and Mail: Searching for answers: Sense of unease lingers in B.C.’s isolated north as police hunt suspects in remote killings

Looks like it was a cashier from the gas station in Dease Lake that said her mother had seen the two hitchhiking. The local residents had said the two had been camping in a lot near town. That was likely the third crime scene investigated by RCMP, the other two being the burned truck location 50 km south and the roadside pull-out where LD's body was found, a further 2km south of the burned truck.

 

[MistyWaters]

The logistics of them hitchhiking in the opposite direction don't make sense to me. If it was them, I imagine they abandoned it pretty quickly because it doesn't make sense. I can only imagine them trying to explain this to a prospective driver:

"Hey, now that you've picked up a rather tall teenaged stranger, will you turn around and go back and get my buddy--another rather tall teenaged stranger--walking the other way? Please?"

It would work better, I'd think, for one of them to hitch (probably Kam since he could drive and would be able to operate the vehicle if he seized control of it from someone) and the other to hide or for them to hitch together.

If it’s true they were hitchhiking in opposite directions I think it would be to make it appear they were not together and the purpose was to lure a victim. A sole young person hitchhiking would be offered a ride much sooner than two males. By each standing in a different direction, they doubled their chances somebody would stop. What happened after that, how they intended one would overpower an innocent victim who stopped.......some excuse to pull over to to an unoccupied rest stop, peebreak, then the use of a knife or bear spray on the driver? Meanwhile the other one has jumped back in the parked truck and follows behind, stopping at the location the attack is taking place, murdering the driver and each head off in a separate vehicle. Just my imagination but it fits the scenario of where LD was found, at a rest stop.

 

[Curiouspersonxyz]

Calvin White: Like many teens, Kam and Bryer were lost — and we should have noticed

This is an interesting perspective from someone who saw teenager’s issues first hand as a high school counselor.

As a follow-on, this news article describes the work of forensic psychologists / behavioral analysts to identify possible red flags that would identify mass shooters and help target interventions (which I think might have some applicability to these suspects/spree killers). As the article states, the next practical issue, assuming someone identifies red flags, is the lack of reporting mechanisms and a legal basis for outsiders to intervene. I think this research/discussion is a step in a helpful direction.

“With funding from the Secret Service and the National Institute of Justice, they studied and interviewed an extensive list of notorious assassins and in 1997 published research that identified patterns of behavior and thought that were precursors to actual attacks.

They found the red flags, including preoccupation with violence or mass attacks, anger related to a history of loss and failure, expressed need for attention or notoriety and a history of menacing behavior.”

From https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/08/15/opinions/warning-signs-potential-mass-shootings-opinion-spodak/index.html?r=https://www.cnn.com/

 

[Zella]

If it’s true they were hitchhiking in opposite directions I think it would be to make it appear they were not together and the purpose was to lure a victim. A sole young person hitchhiking would be offered a ride much sooner than two males. By each standing in a different direction, they doubled their chances somebody would stop. What happened after that, how they intended one would overpower an innocent victim who stopped.......some excuse to pull over to to an unoccupied rest stop, peebreak, then the use of a knife or bear spray on the driver? Meanwhile the other one has jumped back in the parked truck and follows behind, pulling over where the attack is taking place? Just my imagination but it fits the scenario of where LD was found, at a rest stop.

Yes, it's the logistics of what they would do once they were in the vehicle alone with someone that makes me wonder, and a lot of that hinges on whether or not BS's not having a DL means he couldn't drive. If he could drive but was unlicensed, it was workable. If he literally couldn't drive anything, he'd be quite helpless once he was in someone's car. There's also the factor of how much time they'd have to be in the car before they could attack. They could get quite a ways away from each other and not be guaranteed cell service to contact each other.

I also think that, just as they needed isolated victims on remote roadways to attack, they also needed to be together to kill. But that's just me. I think one of them attacking someone else who had picked them up was a lot less appealing to these 2 than them attacking someone together. MOO

For LD, I'm thinking they flagged him down where he was found or they took him by surprise where he was found and that he was already out of the vehicle, possibly looking at plants.

 

[CanadianMade]

If it’s true they were hitchhiking in opposite directions I think it would be to make it appear they were not together and the purpose was to lure a victim. A sole young person hitchhiking would be offered a ride much sooner than two males. By each standing in a different direction, they doubled their chances somebody would stop. What happened after that, how they intended one would overpower an innocent victim who stopped.......some excuse to pull over to to an unoccupied rest stop, peebreak, then the use of a knife or bear spray on the driver? Meanwhile the other one has jumped back in the parked truck and follows behind, stopping at the location the attack is taking place, murdering the driver and each head off in a separate vehicle. Just my imagination but it fits the scenario of where LD was found, at a rest stop.

Where exactly would they be luring them to though?
Why would you lure someone in the opposite direction of your accomplice?
**Not YOU, just the wording.

ETA: If this were the case, they would have to ensure that the one person who is Not near the truck was the one to get picked up.

 

[Moriarty]

Yes, it's the logistics of what they would do once they were in the vehicle alone with someone that makes me wonder, and a lot of that hinges on whether or not BS's not having a DL means he couldn't drive. If he could drive but was unlicensed, it was workable. If he literally couldn't drive anything, he'd be quite helpless once he was in someone's car. There's also the factor of how much time they'd have to be in the car before they could attack. They could get quite a ways away from each other and not be guaranteed cell service to contact each other.

I also think that, just as they needed isolated victims on remote roadways to attack, they also needed to be together to kill. But that's just me. I think one of them attacking someone else who had picked them up was a lot less appealing to these 2 than them attacking someone together. MOO

For LD, I'm thinking they flagged him down where he was found or they took him by surprise where he was found and that he was already out of the vehicle, possibly looking at plants.

Not proof of anything, I know, but I have only hitchhiked one time, as an undergrad at university. My friend and I were stuck on a large island and needed a ride to get off on either side of the island. He stood on one side of the road hitching one direction, and I stood opposite him on the other side hitching the other way. That way, we could hopefully snag a ride going either way and talk the driver into letting the other join in. Since it was a rural road, there was little traffic, and he and I could talk while we waited for cars.

Turns out, everyone on the island was a farmer and only driving to the next field.

 

[Zella]

Not proof of anything, I know, but I have only hitchhiked one time, as an undergrad at university. My friend and I were stuck on a large island and needed a ride to get off on either side of the island. He stood on one side of the road hitching one direction, and I stood opposite him on the other side hitching the other way. That way, we could hopefully snag a ride going either way and talk the driver into letting the other join in. Since it was a rural road, there was little traffic, and he and I could talk while we waited for cars.

Turns out, everyone on the island was a farmer and only driving to the next field.

That's interesting--thank you! Maybe they were banking on their ability to talk someone into picking up both of them. If they were just on the other side of the road but still together that would be more manageable than them actively walking, which is what I envisioned.

LOL I wonder if they ran into a similar situation where whomever did stop was maybe not an appealing option?

I've personally never hitched before--or picked up a hitchhiker. I had 2 cousins murdered by hitchhikers back in the 70s, so nobody in my family stops for anyone, no matter how innocuous-looking.

 

[24Brix]

You seem quite confident. However the OP who said that the roof damage was not likely from the fire was a firefighter with 20 yrs experience and matching experience as an auto mechanic. I find his information credible.

For comparison, here's a Dodge Ram, 1500 that was burnt out.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kaml...fter-burned-truck-found-on-property-1.3733799

and below is the suspects' burnt out Dodge Ram.
B.C. teens charged with 2nd-degree murder as Canada-wide manhunt continues

On the BigFoot camper-backs I’ve seen, there is often an A/C compressor mounted on top. It’s pretty heavy and no doubt attached to the camper’s metal frame, not the fiberglass panels. My belief has always been that the collapse of the camper from the fire would drop the compressor. The leverage on the frame pole it was mounted to could be responsible for the crease in the super-heated sheet-metal top of the truck. No doubt it was a hotter vehicle fire than most that included more combustibles than usual and probably a propane fuel source.

I’m sure the forensics team has a theory and, whatever it is, it’s probably the correct.

All MOO, of course.

 

[Moriarty]

That's interesting--thank you! Maybe they were banking on their ability to talk someone into picking up both of them. If they were just on the other side of the road but still together that would be more manageable than them actively walking, which is what I envisioned.

LOL I wonder if they ran into a similar situation where whomever did stop was maybe not an appealing option?

Maybe...if it's even true they hitchhiked. We have seen a few times on this story how witnesses cannot always be accurate.

I've personally never hitched before--or picked up a hitchhiker. I had 2 cousins murdered by hitchhikers back in the 70s, so nobody in my family stops for anyone, no matter how innocuous-looking.

That's horrible! I'm so sorry to hear that.
No, I was under the impression that hitchhiking was a relic of a bygone age...then again we willingly climb into stranger's car with an UBER sign in the window...

 

[Zella]

Maybe...if it's even true they hitchhiked. We have seen a few times on this story how witnesses cannot always be accurate.



That's horrible! I'm so sorry to hear that.
No, I was under the impression that hitchhiking was a relic of a bygone age...then again we willingly climb into stranger's car with an UBER sign in the window...

That's a good point about the witnesses.

And thank you! I was born after the murders happened, so I never met the cousins in question. But the specter of that has sort of loomed over my family for these past 40-some years. Now that I think about it, that family story might have been why I was so interested with this story to begin with--that idea of danger on the roads.

 

[cartman]

Calvin White: Like many teens, Kam and Bryer were lost — and we should have noticed

Thank you for posting!

One thing that struck me throughout this whole thing was the absence of a plea from their families to come home. It was interesting to read Calvin White’s perspective.

 

[scrappinkat]

All excellent points and I agree 100%, they weren't just best friends I think they were lovers as well. Like if for example one of them got injured if they were indeed on that john boat, one would never leave the other even if it meant death.

Personally I don’t agree with them being lovers. I think it’s more like brothers, bonded more than most can understand. Through childhood experiences that saw one experiencing some kind of abuse and the other one seeing it, most likely not feeling able to tell anyone and growing into a role of brother and protector. I believe its a bond that goes deeper than lovers.