Wanted Suspects Found Dead After Nationwide Hunt

14 posts / 0 new

Mon, 2019-08-12 22:15

Aristotleded24

RCMP concluded autopsies on Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky, confirming suicide after their bodies were found in northern Manitoba:

Quote:
RCMP confirmed Monday the two bodies found in northern Manitoba last week are those of homicide suspects, Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky, and said the two died in what appears to be suicides by gunfire.

The bodies were found Wednesday, ending a 15-day cross-country search for the two men from Port Alberni, B.C.

Mounties had expressed confidence that the bodies belong to the men, but officers were not able to confirm the identities until autopsies were completed by the Manitoba medical examiner.

The autopsies suggest both individuals were dead for several days before they were found, but the exact time of their deaths is not known.

Schmegelsky and McLeod became suspects in the murders of Lucas Fowler, Chyna Deese, and Leonard Dyck in BC. This touched off a national search that eventually focused on northern Manitoba, bringing heavily armed RCMP to Gillam and the Fox Lake First Nation. Even members of the Bear Clan went up from Winnipeg to offer their assitance.

Very disappointed that it ended this way. I was hoping they could be captured alive. Then, if they had been proven to have committed the murders, they could serve long prison sentences not only for the murders but also for the terror that these northern communities felt as they became the focus of the search.

Wed, 2019-08-14 13:13

Ken Burch

How horrible this whole story was for the victims, the survivors of the victims, and the parents of these young men, for they too are victims in all of this, it seems.

Not sure there's anything else to say about any of that.

Wed, 2019-08-14 19:24

WWWTT

I think the rcmp and icm handled this wrong. And this is the result, more deaths of people who are innocent until proven guilty. I’m sure there will be things relevant that will never come out

Wed, 2019-08-14 19:50

(Reply to #3) #4

Aristotleded24

WWWTT wrote:
I think the rcmp and icm handled this wrong. And this is the result, more deaths of people who are innocent until proven guilty. I’m sure there will be things relevant that will never come out

Sorry, no. They appear to have wanted to kill themselves as part of their plan. That's by their own doing. It looks like they had taken off into the bush long before the RCMP confirmed that they were in Gillam. As critical as we often are of the police, in situations like these they go on what they know at the time. How should they respond when they have reason to believe a suspected murderer is on the loose, possibly ready to strike again?

Sometimes a public safety emergency is a public safety emergency. Let it play out until the immediate danger has passed and if there are any problems with the way the police handled it, the defense attorneys can bring that up during the trial.

Wed, 2019-08-14 21:28

laine lowe laine lowe's picture

Did the RCMP consult and engage local resource users once they found the burned car outside of Bird? I was up there when the manhunt in the area started - just west of Gillam and east of Split Lake (where there were reports and interviews of them of getting fuel and being stopped by the local policing patrol). It seems to me that they may not have (maybe for insurance liability reasons) because I am sure the local Fox Lake First Nation resource users would have effectively combed the bush around Sundance Road (near where the car was burned) and the shore of the Nelson River. And the sighting at the York Landing landfill turned out to be a red herring.

Wed, 2019-08-14 22:20

Aristotleded24

Well one of the articles I linked to mentioned that members of the Fox Lake First Nation were happy to see the RCMP around to try and find the suspects. I'm not sure exactly what protocols they followed when they decided to zero in on Gillam. I was wondering how familiar the officers would have been with the area if they had been stationed from elsewhere in the country. As for engaging locals, in these kinds of situations the police usually say, "keep your eyes open, but if you see something, contact us ASAP and don't take matters into your own hands."

Fri, 2019-08-16 02:24

(Reply to #6) #7

Ken Burch

WWWTT wrote:

I think the rcmp and icm handled this wrong. And this is the result, more deaths of people who are innocent until proven guilty. I’m sure there will be things relevant that will never come out

So, what would you have had them do instead?(on edit) I realized I was sounding argumentative there and that was not my intent-I'm just wondering what your approach to this would have been?

Thu, 2019-08-15 22:25

alan smithee alan smithee's picture

Rest in Pieces

Fri, 2019-08-16 10:26

Aristotleded24

What if the suspected killers were Muslims?

This reminded me of an interview with one of his former classmates where she said he constantly talked about killing himself or others. I'm in utter shock that such a big red flag would have been missed by authorities, especially in a post-Columbine world.

Sun, 2019-08-18 14:10

(Reply to #9) #10

Paladin1

laine lowe wrote:

Did the RCMP consult and engage local resource users once they found the burned car outside of Bird? I was up there when the manhunt in the area started - just west of Gillam and east of Split Lake (where there were reports and interviews of them of getting fuel and being stopped by the local policing patrol). It seems to me that they may not have (maybe for insurance liability reasons) because I am sure the local Fox Lake First Nation resource users would have effectively combed the bush around Sundance Road (near where the car was burned) and the shore of the Nelson River. And the sighting at the York Landing landfill turned out to be a red herring.

Police will shy away from asking locals for assistance outside of reporting suspicious activity due to liability, optics and politics. Even asking military for assistance comes with the same issues.

Sun, 2019-08-18 14:13

(Reply to #10) #11

Paladin1

Aristotleded24 wrote:

I'm in utter shock that such a big red flag would have been missed by authorities, especially in a post-Columbine world.

If you read up on many ogf the shootings in the US you wouldn't be shocked at all that red flags are missed. Most of the stories play out the same way where these shooters are anti social, have all kinds of problems, are known to the police and/or have people saying they were ticking time bombs.

Shooters seem to continiously slip through the cracks and the police seem to deop the ball dealing with people.

Sun, 2019-08-18 22:56

(Reply to #11) #12

Aristotleded24

Paladin1 wrote:

Aristotleded24 wrote:

I'm in utter shock that such a big red flag would have been missed by authorities, especially in a post-Columbine world.

If you read up on many ogf the shootings in the US you wouldn't be shocked at all that red flags are missed. Most of the stories play out the same way where these shooters are anti social, have all kinds of problems, are known to the police and/or have people saying they were ticking time bombs.

Shooters seem to continiously slip through the cracks and the police seem to deop the ball dealing with people.

While we hear reports out of BC that anti-pipeline protesters are being targeted for surveillance. Doesn't make sense, at least if the main concern is the protection and enhancement of public safety.

Fri, 2019-09-13 05:22

(Reply to #12) #13

jerrym

Aristotleded24 wrote:

Paladin1 wrote:

Aristotleded24 wrote:

I'm in utter shock that such a big red flag would have been missed by authorities, especially in a post-Columbine world.

If you read up on many ogf the shootings in the US you wouldn't be shocked at all that red flags are missed. Most of the stories play out the same way where these shooters are anti social, have all kinds of problems, are known to the police and/or have people saying they were ticking time bombs.

Shooters seem to continiously slip through the cracks and the police seem to deop the ball dealing with people.

While we hear reports out of BC that anti-pipeline protesters are being targeted for surveillance. Doesn't make sense, at least if the main concern is the protection and enhancement of public safety.

It makes sense in terms of the history of Canada where those who rise to the leadership of the RCMP are those who do what the govénment wants. After all the Liberal government wants to protect its investment in the pipeline.

Fri, 2019-09-13 10:32

#14

Pondering

They were found only 7 k away near the river which would have been an obvious place to look. On reflection I realized that it would not have been safe for anyone to hunt them through the bush. It is a hunting area with cabins, but also with hunting blinds. Even if they went searching along the river if the guys were in the bush they could have shot before law enforcement had any idea they were there. The focus had to be on making sure the residents of the area were safe. The residents were saying the guys couldn't survive out there indefinitely and that the bugs would be driving them mad at that time of year.

I wish law enforcement would wait it out more often. All too often they do go charging in and people die.