CANADA - Lucas Fowler, Australian & g/f Chynna Deese, American, murdered, Alaska Hwy, BC, Jul 2019

[TheSecondLaw]

Nobody lives in the area where this couple were killed, except staff of a few tourist accommodations. There's no private property at all between Fort Nelson, 4 hrs south, and the Yukon border 2 hours north.

Here's a detailed description of the drive, with all the places to get off the highway. Mostly parking areas.
Alaska Highway - mile by mile description from Fort Nelson

In regards to provided parking locations, that the LF & CD location is almost to the kilometre at the location corresponding with this point along the mile by mile description :

From the link provided by Satchie ( Alaska Highway - mile by mile description from Fort Nelson ) :

KM 734.5 Parking by Trout River. There are several small parking areas between here and km 750.

On this list, Fort Nelson is marked as the 454km point on the highway. A measurement of the road distance between Fort Nelson the LFCD site provides 284km (With a travel time of 3hr 34mins). Subtracting Fort Nelson's 454km from 734.5km (using FN the starting point for measurement purposes), provides a distance of 280km.

Upon observing the 'ditch' on street view, located just metres south on the Highway which LFCD would have passed before stopping their van - It seems to be a raised rocky access point, designed to allow easier access to the Trout River & doubling as a parking spot, large enough for one vehicle.

Perhaps Lucas and Chynna did not notice this spot upon passing it, or perhaps their vehicle issue was cause for them to stop immediately where they did - Hence partially remaining on the northbound lane. I am increasingly of the mindset that they continued to have issues with the van before they met their demise. IMO if the van was running again, even if they did decide to camp there for the night it would be assumed they would have made an attempt to park the van up in a more suitable location.

The side roads a short way further north up the road are additional parking spots in the area for access to Trout River. If the attacker(s) wished to park in seclusion nearby, there were at least a few places they could choose from.

 

[janewall]

I got the okay to post this info with a MSM link backing it. The Daily Mail is not a source I like to rely on, but it has been used as MSM elsewhere on WS many times, and given the RCMP's closemouthed approach to releasing specifics about this case, it may be the only source for quite some time that names Venator Ranches as Lucas' employer.
Australian man and girlfriend murdered in Canada travelled world together after meeting in Croatia | Daily Mail Online

The Venator Ranch website is here: venator-ranch-ltd (It looks like this family is living the dream. I suggest checking out the wildlife tab. What a gorgeous place!)

Thanks @sillybilly !

 

[PingTheRouter]

they are saying they have a breakthrough hold on while i update

• Investigators have allegedly identified the shooter's car through footage
• Locals have since claimed police in the region are zeroing in on the shooter, having successfully identified the getaway car that was used and the general direction the person travelled in.
  
  Investigators are said to have reason to believe the shooter fled north - meaning the killer headed in the general direction where another body was found close to a burning car, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Breakthrough in case of murdered Australian backpacker and his American girlfriend | Daily Mail Online

 

[Sillybilly]

A question for the locals, would you expect the RCMP to respond to a call to a vehicle breakdown in the area? In Australia, I would expect a police callout in these circumstances would have prompted a response - for the risk to passing traffic, but also because of the location for the safety of the individuals stranded.

Northern Rockies RCMP detachment is out of Fort Nelson and they cover a very large geographical area.

Northern Rockies detachment - British Columbia

IMO it would not be surprising that it would take some time to have the call checked out

 

[PingTheRouter]

another update and breakthrough
Mystery bearded man seen arguing on Highway 37 with Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese before murders
A mystery bearded man was seen arguing on the Canadian highway with Australian Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend before they were brutally murdered

Killer ‘still on the loose’ with headstart

A witness had come forward to say she saw a mystery bearded man in a heated exchange with Aussie tourist Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese before their murders.

The witness told Channel 9 the man was arguing with the couple while his vehicle was parked down the road on the Canadian highway where the couple was stopped.

 

[janewall]

another update and breakthrough
Mystery bearded man seen arguing on Highway 37 with Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese before murders
A mystery bearded man was seen arguing on the Canadian highway with Australian Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend before they were brutally murdered

Killer ‘still on the loose’ with headstart

A witness had come forward to say she saw a mystery bearded man in a heated exchange with Aussie tourist Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese before their murders.

The witness told Channel 9 the man was arguing with the couple while his vehicle was parked down the road on the Canadian highway where the couple was stopped.

Looking forward to hearing more about this alleged argumentative man and the identifying features of the vehicle he was in. Unfortunately, per your previous post the Daily Telegraph has the scoop on the vehicle at the moment, and they don't allow any reading without subscription. I hope other sources get on this angle quickly if it's accurate.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

That's a terrible article. It reuses the 'highway of Tears' crap and also gets other things wrong.

How could they be arguing on Highway 37 when they were headed north on Highway 97 when they were killed. The Broughtons were heading south, Lucas and Chynna heading north. This doesn't make any logistical sense for them to be way over on Highway 37 when you look at the BC map. Also where the 3rd body was found is over 7 hours drive away. At a rest stop just south of the Stikine river bridge which is about 30 miles south of Lake Dease. Over 160 miles south west of where they were found, as the crow flies. Not the same highway at all; why do they keep getting the facts so wrong?

 

[PingTheRouter]

That's a terrible article. It reuses the 'highway of Tears' crap and also gets other things wrong.

How could they be arguing on Highway 37 when they were headed north on Highway 97 when they were killed. The Broughtons were heading south, Lucas and Chynna heading north. This doesn't make any logistical sense for them to be way over on Highway 37 when you look at the BC map. Also where the 3rd body was found is over 7 hours drive away. At a rest stop just south of the Stikine river bridge which is about 30 miles south of Lake Dease. Over 160 miles south west of where they were found, as the crow flies. Not the same highway at all; why do they keep getting the facts so wrong?

poor edtors at the daily fail probably just didn't check and continued with 37 instead of 97

 

[daikon.radish]

Hello all, first post but longtime lurker!

I can see how there could be a connection to both crimes, though, if Chynna and Lucas had been shot by the killer who then kept driving and the next person ran foul of him — maybe two road rage cases taken to extremes? Especially if the second man was shot.

As a side note I am intrigued by the great names in this case: Chynna has brothers named British and Stetson, and a sister Kennedy, and the witness Mrs Hawryluk (?).

(Also, don’t most men in the wilds of Canada have beards? Hard to find a suspect described thus.)

Edited bc I can’t spell, apparently.

 

[zecats]

poor edtors at the daily fail probably just didn't check and continued with 37 instead of 97

They messed a lot of info. Also stating Janelle Shoihet is in charge of Northern Rockies Division. I remember her from Ben Tyner's case in Merritt, BC.

She is media relations, perhaps they sent her up there to speak on the case.
Not so important to the case itself, but definitely in taking what this "MSM" source has to say - sensationalism at its best in most of their articles.
Sgt. Janelle Shoihet
District Advisory NCO (Media Relations)
Lower Mainland District

 

[PingTheRouter]

They messed a lot of info. Also stating Janelle Shoihet

didn't she do the press conference ?

 

[zecats]

didn't she do the press conference ?

Yes she did. That's how I remembered her, from her press conference on Ben. Not sure if DM is accurately describing her RCMP headquarters accurately is all. Unless she's all over BC. Another excuse for me to pick on their reporting, though I admit they often have elements of truth in print. They cut many corners though for headlines.
We were not able to use them as a source on WS until maybe a year ago, iir correctly.

 

[SteveP]

We know that police were unable to identify the bodies for 3 days. Vehicle licence plate should lead police directly to the owner's address. That was not possible because the vehicle was registered in a province where the owner did not live.

"It appears robbery may have been the motive with the couple’s identification missing.

Mr Deese said investigators eventually found his sister’s passport hidden in the van."​

Eerie final sighting of murdered Aussie

While I agree that LF should have registered his van and gotten insurance in BC, and not Alberta, it seems he technically had 6 months to change a vehicle registration after moving, and apparently had only been working at the ranch since February, which falls within the 6-month time window. Also, regardless of whether the address was wrong, the registration apparently was still in his name, so identification should not have been delayed by 3 days based on that. Also, once CD's passport was found, it probably did not take a great deal of investigation to determine who she was travelling with. Like another poster stated, lack of primary ID's immediately found with the bodies is most likely the main reason for any delay in determining who the victims were. JMO

 

[JudgeJudi]

The story about the bearded man is true.

Channel 9 News have reported the story and I've transcribed it:

A roadworker (Trevor Pierre) interviewed at the side of the road said, “I don’t know how anybody could live with themselves after doing what I saw”.

After tourists raised the alarm roadworker and paramedic Trevor Pierre found the bodies lying near their van. It had a smashed back right window and the right doors were left open.

TP: In the ditch was a lady first, young lady, and maybe 5 metres behind was the gentleman. He had no shoes. The young lady had one.

Equally disturbing he says was the victims’ identical positions in the dirt.

TP: You see this young, beautiful lady laying there. That’s (ui) into my mind.

The night before, Alandra Hull, who also works on the regions roads claims she saw a bearded man confronting the pair on the highway.

AH: To me he kind of looked frustrated or something. Like, he was just kind of standing like this. [She spreads her arms with palms upturned], like, just looking at them.

Alandra says the couple’s van was pulled over in an area like this one along the Alaska Highway with Lucas and Chynna standing beside it. She says they were talking to a man who was standing in the middle of the highway with his own car parked down the road, like he walked towards them. She recalls the couple looked bothered. Alandra has told police what she saw. They’ve asked her to help a sketch artist with a composite of the mystery man.

AH: If you just get a bad feeling – and that’s what I had – you just don’t stop.

You had a bad feeling?

AH: I did.

Canadian authorities ramp up investigation into murder of Australian man and girlfriend were killed

You can watch the video with both witnesses.

 

[SteveP]

The story about the bearded man is true.

Channel 9 News have reported the story and I've transcribed it:

A roadworker (Trevor Pierre) interviewed at the side of the road said, “I don’t know how anybody could live with themselves after doing what I saw”.

After tourists raised the alarm roadworker and paramedic Trevor Pierre found the bodies lying near their van. It had a smashed back right window and the right doors were left open.

TP: In the ditch was a lady first, young lady, and maybe 5 metres behind was the gentleman. He had no shoes. The young lady had one.

Equally disturbing he says was the victims’ identical positions in the dirt.

TP: You see this young, beautiful lady laying there. That’s (ui) into my mind.

The night before, Alandra Hull, who also works on the regions roads claims she saw a bearded man confronting the pair on the highway.

AH: To me he kind of looked frustrated or something. Like, he was just kind of standing like this. [She spreads her arms with palms upturned], like, just looking at them.

Alandra says the couple’s van was pulled over in an area like this one along the Alaska Highway with Lucas and Chynna standing beside it. She says they were talking to a man who was standing in the middle of the highway with his own car parked down the road, like he walked towards them. She recalls the couple looked bothered. Alandra has told police what she saw. They’ve asked her to help a sketch artist with a composite of the mystery man.

AH: If you just get a bad feeling – and that’s what I had – you just don’t stop.

You had a bad feeling?

AH: I did.

Canadian authorities ramp up investigation into murder of Australian man and girlfriend were killed

You can watch the video with both witnesses.

To me, this sounds like perhaps a road rage killing. Perhaps the bearded man happened upon them, and was furious that the broken down van was partially in the roadway. Or perhaps he had encountered them somewhere along the road earlier. Perhaps he was tailgating them because they were not going fast enough for him and he could not pass them quickly enough. Who knows? People get road rage over almost nothing sometimes. Maybe one of the couple flipped him off for agressively driving. Maybe after stopping for food or gas or a restroom break , he eventually caught up with them again and saw them out of their vehicle, and decided to have words with them. The details offered so far do not lend themselves to robbery being a primary motive, imo. After all, looking at the van, does it seem that the occupants would have probably had a lot to rob them of? I think perhaps robbery was an afterthought, and perhaps taking wallets and purses, etc, were more for the act of slowing identification of the victims. JMO

 

[JudgeJudi]

Alandra Hull has seen the bearded man and his car, so things should start moving forward.

The say the Mounties always get their man, and I believe they will.

 

[zecats]

The story about the bearded man is true.

Channel 9 News have reported the story and I've transcribed it:

A roadworker (Trevor Pierre) interviewed at the side of the road said, “I don’t know how anybody could live with themselves after doing what I saw”.

After tourists raised the alarm roadworker and paramedic Trevor Pierre found the bodies lying near their van. It had a smashed back right window and the right doors were left open.

TP: In the ditch was a lady first, young lady, and maybe 5 metres behind was the gentleman. He had no shoes. The young lady had one.

Equally disturbing he says was the victims’ identical positions in the dirt.

TP: You see this young, beautiful lady laying there. That’s (ui) into my mind.

The night before, Alandra Hull, who also works on the regions roads claims she saw a bearded man confronting the pair on the highway.

AH: To me he kind of looked frustrated or something. Like, he was just kind of standing like this. [She spreads her arms with palms upturned], like, just looking at them.

Alandra says the couple’s van was pulled over in an area like this one along the Alaska Highway with Lucas and Chynna standing beside it. She says they were talking to a man who was standing in the middle of the highway with his own car parked down the road, like he walked towards them. She recalls the couple looked bothered. Alandra has told police what she saw. They’ve asked her to help a sketch artist with a composite of the mystery man.

AH: If you just get a bad feeling – and that’s what I had – you just don’t stop.

You had a bad feeling?

AH: I did.

Canadian authorities ramp up investigation into murder of Australian man and girlfriend were killed

You can watch the video with both witnesses.

Did he not care that there were witnesses? If several people can id him and his vehicle, was he not aware of other vehicles passing by? Or was he in such a rage for some reason (road rage?) that he blocked it out? I'm just surprised that someone would kill two people on a road where others were passing by. Normally murderers don't want to be seen.

I reckon I should not be surprised by anything people do. I do hope it leads to an arrest.

 

[JudgeJudi]

As Trevor Pierre described Chynna as "this young beautiful lady", it sounds as though she may not have been shot in the head. It was reported earlier that "the injuries inflicted were so 'brutal', Ms Deese’s heartbroken brother said the family was told an open casket would not be allowed at her funeral."

My heart goes out to these two poor families.

 

[TheSecondLaw]

I was wondering the relevance of the police markers at the rear of the vehicle, and whether this was in relation to either Lucas or Chynna being located deceased at that location. It seems as if perhaps, upon feeling intimidated by this individual, they may have retreated into their van to hide. The smashed rear window... Was this from a bullet, or being struck with a rock or some other object?

Perhaps this individual / POI was in some kind of mental state and punched the rear window with their bare hand, in which case they would now have DNA. The open side door and Lucas with no shoes / Chynna wearing one shoe suggests perhaps a hasty escape attempt, upon which moment they were killed.

It sounds increasingly like the actions of a mentally disturbed / drug affected individual, possibly triggered by the van being partially in the northbound lane. 'The way the bodies were positioned' is of note. Does this imply that the POI may have deliberately posed the bodies in some manner after taking their lives?

All IMO.

 

[zecats]

To me, this sounds like perhaps a road rage killing. Perhaps the bearded man happened upon them, and was furious that the broken down van was partially in the roadway. Or perhaps he had encountered them somewhere along the road earlier. Perhaps he was tailgating them because they were not going fast enough for him and he could not pass them quickly enough. Who knows? People get road rage over almost nothing sometimes. Maybe one of the couple flipped him off for agressively driving. Maybe after stopping for food or gas or a restroom break , he eventually caught up with them again and saw them out of their vehicle, and decided to have words with them. The details offered so far do not lend themselves to robbery being a primary motive, imo. After all, looking at the van, does it seem that the occupants would have probably had a lot to rob them of? I think perhaps robbery was an afterthought, and perhaps taking wallets and purses, etc, were more for the act of slowing identification of the victims. JMO

I'm agreeing with you on your theory. One thing though, if he wanted to slow id and get away, he didn't seem to be worried about being seen. Or about his vehicle being seen either.