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

[Iwondertoo]

During my one and only trip along the Alaskan Highway I noticed many old gravel pits a short distance off the road, probably excavated during the original construction of the highway, which were very popular stopping spots for tourists in campers and motor homes. But I must admit, I didn’t notice vehicles parked overnight along the road at all. But that was about 10 years ago so perhaps things have changed.

However according to BC’s Rest Stop Map, rest stops are still very scarce along the Alaskan Highway although there’s several on Hwy 37, where the Professors body was found at one of them.
BC Rest Areas

Yes, official rest stops may be rare. Pull outs are not rare at all. There are many 'unofficial pull outs' that have been created over the years like the gravel pits you mentioned. Some have just room for a couple vehicles, others have room for 4 or 5.

I've camped the two highways that are mentioned here and many times we stopped at a pull out off the highway for lunch. A few times, we spent the night just because it was a beautiful site carved out beside a creek and we were in no rush.

I've read a few blogs about boondocking in Northern BC and the Yukon and there's no shortage of beautiful sites.

People don't camp along the highway unless their vehicle broke down.

 

[FactFinder3000]

BC highway safety regulation requires disabled vehicles to be removed "forthwith." I am assuming that they were unaware of this, and that they were also unaware of restricted camping on highways and at pullouts.

They are not the first people to have a breakdown on the highway, so safety regulations are in place for both the stranded vehicle and other traffic.

In BC, you have 72 hours to remove your vehicle from the side of a highway. Perhaps they were aware of this fact.

edit: and actually, in practice it's 72 hours from the time when RCMP mark your vehicle for towing.

 

[otto]

Respectfully, I do not believe that many here just assume that they were unaware of law and highway safety regulation. I think it is a non-issue. If your vehicle breaks down on the side of the highway, your awareness of law isn't moving the vehicle any farther down the road than ignorance of the law is moving it. It seems that by the time that they realized the problem was more than just a flooded engine, and a tow was going to be required, it probably was late enough that, if a tow truck would have even come the distance required to reach them at that hour, they very possibly would have already been dead by the time it arrived anyway. Hindsight is 20-20, and we all know that they would very likely still be fine if they had just towed the van soon after it broke down. In real time, at the time, I dare say many, if not most of us posting about this case, would have done exactly what they did. JMO

I don't know how else this could have happened.

Several people were concerned about their situation that afternoon, one person contacted RCMP. They were not concerned, at least not by accounts of them snacking and waving in lawn chairs behind the North facing van. They seem like good people who want to do the right thing while living life to its' fullest. It seems unlikely that they would do the wrong thing if they were aware of regulation and law preventing them from camping overnight on the side of the highway. They would have called a road service or solved the problem at 3:30 on July 14 rather than postpone acting on the problem until the following day. Maybe they realized that the Alaska trip was out of the question, and chose to enjoy one night with the early morning mountain air and view.

 

[Kubirai]

I wonder what’s the interest in Mucho Lake? Possibly L&C stayed there the night of the 14th?

View attachment 198807
Final tragic twist in Canada highway murders

RCMP was probably looking for license plates of every vehicle that passed through Muncho Lake Provincial Park while Lucas/Chynna van was stopped farther north near Liard River.

 

[Sillybilly]

WS is victim friendly. Please move on from any discussion of whether the victims violated any road regulations. They did absolutely NOTHING to warrant being murdered.

 

[Optics]

BC highway safety regulation requires disabled vehicles to be removed "forthwith." I am assuming that they were unaware of this, and that they were also unaware of restricted camping on highways and at pullouts.

They are not the first people to have a breakdown on the highway, so safety regulations are in place for both the stranded vehicle and other traffic.

The northern parts of BC and Yukon (likely other provinces) are very remote which has been repeated over and over. Yes there are campgrounds however any one of a million things could come up preventing travellers from getting to a campground. In the case of Fowler/Deese they were 12 miles from Liard, but clearly their van had problems. There was nothing wrong with them ending up spending the night with the van. They would not have been charged. In the north you don't have 'tow trucks' - the nearest one would have been back at Fort Nelson or at Watson Lake. It's different up north. When that section of hwy is patrolled by rcmp - they are trained to be on the lookout for broken down vehicles etc. and provide some assistance most often to get a truck to tow the vehicle.

The tragedy in this whole situation is that Lucas & Chynna could have likely gotten a lift at least into the Liard Lodge earlier that afternoon, but they felt it was just flooded and would start and likely get them to Liard. That never happened, a fatal mistake they could never have foreseen. Its unthinkable you travel a remote road for 4 hours, you are 12 miles from people, you think your vehicle will work and graciously deny help. This was so much of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for them. I can't fathom what went through their minds in those instants before they drew their last breaths.

 

[otto]

Yes, but as I stated, apparently, it was not a high enough priority for LE to respond to the call. I believe she called because she thought they were having trouble though. I do not think the purpose of her call was to tattle on someone just camping. JMO

I agree. The woman who reported the couple in lawn chairs with a stranded vehicle 20 km South of Liard Hot Springs was not a "tattle." Instead, she seems like a concerned local who thought an RCMP intervention was necessary.

RCMP did nothing until they received a second call the following morning at 7:19AM. This is another area where I could see some RCMP improvement. Why did they ignore the 4PM call? What were they doing that pre-empted following up on the 4PM call?

 

[Kubirai]

The key ring -- I hate to bring up the key ring again, and what was on it.

In the case of one of Canada's youngest serial killers, a northern B.C. man who was 20 years old at the time of his arrest, a Leatherman multi-tool was one of the murder weapons.

'I did not murder anybody': B.C. trial hears recording of alleged serial killer

Accused serial killer had 'system' of slaying: Crown

What a find! I copy most relevant section:

He told police a friend had shot a deer and after they chased down the wounded animal, Legebokoff clubbed it with a pipe wrench and stabbed it with a knife from his multi-tool to put it out of its misery.
...
Temple suggested the jury could replace the deer with Leslie to get a clearer picture of what really happened.

 

[Kubirai]

I could see some RCMP improvement. Why did they ignore the 4PM call? What were they doing that pre-empted following up on the 4PM call?

I recall reading in a linked article that RCMP asked if the couple was in distress.

 

[otto]

I recall reading in a linked article that RCMP asked if the couple was in distress.

Who did they ask? RCMP did not need to ask the woman who called it in whether they were distressed, she was concerned. Was that not enough?

The woman and her husband saw the couple 20 minutes apart at about 3:20PM on July 14. The wife called RCMP to report the situation at 4PM.

What were RCMP doing at 4PM on July 14 that they could not respond to the call? What were they doing when the trucker first reported the bodies? Was that at 7:19AM, or was that when the road worker took over the scene and confirmed bodies?

 

[otto]

I think RCMP should have followed up on all calls on July 14, including the report of a stranded couple near Liard Hot Springs. Even if they were tied up with something in Fort Nelson at 4PM, there's really no reason to ignore calls - even if they are a long drive.

 

[Kubirai]

The only thing I've read about LD's travel plans is his cousin said he was not initially going to go that far north but changed his mind and went.

Cousin Friesen will be able to determine when Prof. Dyck communicated the decision to go farther north. This date may become relevant later.

Sister Doris Fleck lives in Red Deer, and we know that Kam or Bryer had a relative there.

 

[srper2]

As Factfinder said, they had 72 hours. They weren't there for 72 hours, they weren't "camping" there, they miscalculated their ability to get the van running and found themselves stuck there for the night while they decided their next move. They may have been murdered before they had even been there for 12 hours, let alone staying "illegally" for more than 72 hours. I can't understand that an entire day has been spent criticizing and blaming the murdered couple because their van broke down and they found themselves stuck there for the night. I guess if they had accepted a lift somewhere and were then murdered, that would have been criticized as the wrong decision as well.

I don't know how else this could have happened.

Several people were concerned about their situation that afternoon, one person contacted RCMP. They were not concerned, at least not by accounts of them snacking and waving in lawn chairs behind the North facing van. They seem like good people who want to do the right thing while living life to its' fullest. It seems unlikely that they would do the wrong thing if they were aware of regulation and law preventing them from camping overnight on the side of the highway. They would have called a road service or solved the problem at 3:30 on July 14 rather than postpone acting on the problem until the following day. Maybe they realized that the Alaska trip was out of the question, and chose to enjoy one night with the early morning mountain air and view.

 

[Kubirai]

Who did they ask? RCMP did not need to ask the woman who called it in whether they were distressed, she was concerned. Was that not enough?

The woman and her husband saw the couple 20 minutes apart at about 3:20PM on July 14. The wife called RCMP to report the situation at 4PM.

What were RCMP doing at 4PM on July 14 that they could not respond to the call? What were they doing when the trucker first reported the bodies? Was that at 7:19AM, or was that when the road worker took over the scene and confirmed bodies?

I recall the woman called RCMP Fort Nelson number and described the situation. I agree that a follow-up call, even if it took 4 hours there and back, was the proper response.

The 7:19 call was from Trevor Pierre, right after he saw the victims. The Trucker's call would have been earlier, and probably initiated the call to Pierre's boss, for verification.

I agree that Fort Nelson RCMP needs to update their response process when the location is far away from the town.

 

[otto]

Cousin Friesen will be able to determine when Prof. Dyck communicated the decision to go farther north. This date may become relevant later.

Sister Doris Fleck lives in Red Deer, and we know that Kam or Bryer had a relative there.

I understood that Bryer's Grandmother thought they were going to Whitehorse to look for work and his father thought they were heading to Red Deer, Alberta to visit a cousin and look for work.

The professor was not in Alberta.

All we know about Dyck is that he lived in Vancouver, had 3 degrees from UBC (starting 1973) and taught continuously at UBC since 2003. He was with other people and then decided to travel solo North of Stikene River prior to July 19. We don't have a date, but the suspect's burned truck was found at the Stikene River bridge, and Dyck's body was 2 km South at a pullout.

We know that the teens were at Jade store North of Dease Lake on July 18 and 50 km South of Dease Lake at 7PM on July 19. Dyck was murdered on July 19.

 

[Esprite]

Wondering if the RCMP followed up on this guy:

Man sought in Alaska Highway murder investigation

 

[MistyWaters]

I think RCMP should have followed up on all calls on July 14, including the report of a stranded couple near Liard Hot Springs. Even if they were tied up with something in Fort Nelson at 4PM, there's really no reason to ignore calls - even if they are a long drive.

It’s quite puzzling why C would be attempting to flag down motorists in daylight on the Alaskan Highway and only this one woman happened to notice who drive on by.

 

[MistyWaters]

I understood that Bryer's Grandmother thought they were going to Whitehorse to look for work and his father thought they were heading to Red Deer, Alberta to visit a cousin and look for work.

The professor was not in Alberta.

All we know about Dyck is that he lived in Vancouver, had 3 degrees from UBC (starting 1973) and taught continuously at UBC since 2003. He was with other people and then decided to travel solo North of Stikene River prior to July 19. We don't have a date, but the suspect's burned truck was found at the Stikene River bridge, and Dyck's body was 2 km South at a pullout.

We know that the teens were at Jade store North of Dease Lake on July 18 and 50 km South of Dease Lake at 7PM on July 19. Dyck was murdered on July 19.

Also during the last PC iirc the BC RCMP stated there was no known connection between the suspects and the victims.

 

[otto]

I recall the woman called RCMP Fort Nelson number and described the situation. I agree that a follow-up call, even if it took 4 hours there and back, was the proper response.

The 7:19 call was from Trevor Pierre, right after he saw the victims. The Trucker's call would have been earlier, and probably initiated the call to Pierre's boss, for verification.

I agree that Fort Nelson RCMP needs to update their response process when the location is far away from the town.

Exactly. The trucker's call would have been earlier, and I recall that it was closer to 5 AM (first light), but RCMP called a road worker who was closer than 4 hours (was he 1-2 hours away?) to check the situation before they even left the station. RCMP repeatedly mention 7:19 AM, but the trucker said something closer to 5AM. Why did RCMP again delay when they had a call about the same van at 4PM the day before?

I think the Fort Nelson RCMP detachment has some room for improvement. Not only did they drop the ball when they learned about the stranded couple at 4PM on July 14, they also dropped the ball when they received the first call about bodies next to the van at 5AM July 15. There is really no excuse for taking 4 hours from the time of the road worker call to respond to reports about bodies near the stranded van.

 

[srper2]

Wondering if the RCMP followed up on this guy:

Man sought in Alaska Highway murder investigation

Yeah, funny not a word heard about him after they started searching for BS and KM! Almost like they either had definitive evidence they weren't prepared to reveal, or developed tunnel vision!