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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2019)
A6 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 Bodies of fugitive Canadian murder suspects discovered By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO — Canadian police said Wednesday they believe two fugitives sus- pected of killing a North Carolina woman and her Australian boyfriend as well as another man have been found dead in dense brush in northern Manitoba. Authorities located two male bodies and are confi - dent they are 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year- old Bryer Schmegelsky, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commis- sioner Jane MacLatchy. An autopsy will confi rm their identities and causes of death. Critical evidence found last week when police dis- covered items directly linked to the suspects on the shoreline of the Nelson River helped locate the bod- ies, MacLatchy said. The two bodies were located less than a mile from where the items were found and about 5.6 miles from where they left a burnt-out vehicle on July 22. “We are confi dent that these are the bodies of the two suspects wanted in connection with the homi- cides in British Columbia,” MacLatchy said. McLeod and Schme- gelsky were charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, a University of British Columbia lecturer whose body was found July 19 along a highway in British Columbia. They were also sus- pects in the fatal shootings of Australian Lucas Fowler Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press Security camera images of fugitives Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky. and Chynna Deese of Char- lotte, North Carolina, whose bodies were found July 15 along the Alaska Highway about 300 miles from where Dyck was killed. A manhunt for the pair had spread across three provinces. The suspects had not been seen since the burnt-out car was found on July 22. The bodies were found near Gillam, Manitoba — more than 2,000 miles from northern British Columbia. Police had said Tuesday they were investigating all possibilities, including that they might have drowned. A police helicopter ini- tially spotted a damaged boat along the Nelson River last week and a follow-up search in the area uncovered the items directly linked to the two in what MacLatchy described as “very tough terrain.” MacLatchy said there is a sense of relief for families of the victims involved and the communities in the area. “It’s huge to be able to hopefully give some people the opportunity to exhale and to hopefully go back to being normal and not be afraid of who is out in the woods,” she said. Deese’s brother, Brit- ish Deese, said the family needed time to process the news that the suspects’ bod- ies were apparently found. “We are speechless,” British Deese said in a text message, declining further comment. The separate discover- ies of three bodies and burn- ing cars shook rural north- ern British Columbia and Manitoba. Schmegelsky’s father, Alan Schmegelsky, said last month that he expected the nationwide manhunt to end in the death of his son, who he said was on “a suicide mission.” McLeod and Schme- gelsky grew up together on Vancouver Island and worked together at a local Walmart before they set off together on what their par- ents thought was a trip to Pot rule: Would allow for certain exceptions Continued from Page A1 “Obviously if somebody is fl ashing their vape pen or whatever around and they’re clearly ingesting (marijuana) obviously then, I think, you could cite them,” she said. City Councilor Tom Brownson called the rule “one of those funny kind of slippery slope-y kinds of things.” If Spalding could point to specifi c instances where the possession of mar- ijuana was a growing prob- lem in city parks, Brownson said he could be convinced the city needs a new rule. But right now, he said, “I don’t buy it.” Other councilors and resi- dents worried the rule would unfairly target specifi c pop- ulations, such as the home- less, who carry all their pos- sessions with them. Spalding assured them that this was not the intent. “I think what we’re all struggling with, c hief, is try- ing to understand what prob- lem we’re trying to solve with this,” City Councilor Roger Rocka said. The City Council asked Spalding to return with spe- cifi c examples of mari- juana-related problems in city parks. The council will revisit the rule modifi cation at a future meeting. With less debate, city councilors unanimously agreed to hold a fi rst read- ing to modify an ordinance regarding public consump- tion of alcohol. Spalding pointed to a marked increase in pub- lic intoxication and people drinking in public. The mod- ifi ed rule, which would apply city wide, would make it ille- gal to possess an open con- tainer of alcohol in public locations — a rule some of the city councilors thought was already in place. The rule would allow for certain exceptions, for example, at “movie in the park” events where beer is sold as a concession. As city rules stand now, police offi cers can only cite someone if they witness the person drinking from an open alcohol container . Going to the Dogs! ST E T N O C PHOTO Welcome to 's D G DAYS Simon National Dog Day Photo Contest! Grab your collars and your cameras, National Dog Day is Aug. 26 and we are on the prowl for the bestest, cutest, snuggliest pups on the coast. According to www.nationaldogday.com, the day celebrates all dogs, mixed breed and purebred, and works to promote the many dogs that need to be rescued. Yukon for work. McLeod and Schme- gelsky themselves were originally considered miss- ing persons and only became suspects later. Police were investigat- ing a photograph of Nazi paraphernalia allegedly sent online by one of the suspects. Schmegelsky allegedly sent photographs of a swastika armband and a Hitler Youth knife to an online friend on the vid- eo-game network Steam. Alan Schmegelsky had said his son took him to an army surplus store about eight months ago in his small Vancouver Island hometown of Port Alberni, where his son was excited about the Nazi artifacts. Alan Schmegelsky said he didn’t believe that his son identifi ed as a neo-Nazi, but that he did think the memo- rabilia was “cool.” Fowler and Deese were found shot dead along the Alaska Highway near Liard Hot Springs, British Columbia. Fowler, the son of a chief inspector with the New South Wales Police Depart- ment, was living in British Columbia and Deese was visiting him. The couple had met at a hostel in Croatia and their romance blossomed as they adventured across the U.S., Mexico, Peru and else- where, the woman’s older brother said. British Deese said the couple was on a trip to visit Canadian national parks when they were killed. He said the family believes they must have had engine trou- ble in their van. Hotel: Knowledge of the tank was lost during change in ownership Continued from Page A1 reimbursing the federal government for all of its response costs.” Part of a crumbling dock next to the hotel col- lapsed early last year, puncturing a fuel storage tank underneath. The Coast Guard over- saw a cleanup costing nearly $1 million, includ- ing the placement of con- tainment booms around the spill, skimmers, vacuum trucks and the removal of the tank. The Department of State Lands has also fi led a claim of at least $1 million against the hotel and estate for the cleanup of the dock. The hotel’s manage- ment has denied any prior knowledge of the tank, installed in the 1920s for storing boiler-heating oil. Jacob, who died last year, bought the property from the Port of Astoria in 1999 to develop the bou- tique hotel on the site of the former Union Fishermen’s Cooperative Packing Co. and a Bumble Bee tuna cannery. Don West, general manager of the Cannery Pier, has said knowledge of the tank was lost during the change in ownership. The Cannery Pier is under contract to be sold to Vesta Hospitality of Van- couver, Washington. The sale depends on the hotel and estate resolving state and federal claims. Thane Tienson, an attorney for the hotel , has said it is also close to a settlement on the state claim. Gearhart: Bowman said he hopes his letter sends a message Continued from Page A1 said t his is the second time the dog has bit someone. In his letter to Brown, Bowman wrote that “l aw e nforcement i nvestigations conducted by my depart- ment will not be infl uenced by political members of our C ity C ouncil. We base our cases on facts and what can be proven in a court of law.” Bowman wrote that he was not alleging offi cial misconduct, but described Smith as “just grossly wrong in his approach.” Bowman said he hopes his letter sends a message to city councilors . “When the investiga- tion is done, if they want to bring it up at council meet- ings or whatever they want to do, then that’s fi ne,” he said. “I thought it was inappropriate and I wanted the m ayor to know and I wanted everybody else to know ... this isn’t the city of Portland where the mayor is in charge of the police department and he gets to interfere.” Bowman believes there needs to be a clear separa- tion of duties . “Police departments should not be politically run, as we can see on the news how bad that turns out,” he said. facebook.com/dailyastorian ANNUAL DOCK SALE August 16th & 17th Friday 7:30-5:30/Sat 7:30-5:00 95 Hamburg Ave. Astoria, OR 503-325-4341 Tackle - Rods & Reels - Crab & Clam Gear - Coolers & Storage - Rain Gear - Clothing - Boots & Shoes Gloves - Safety Equipment - Life Jackets - Flares Boat Maintenance & Accessories And So Much More! In 2016, we fetched 103 photos; in 2017 we romped home with 207 shots of more than 230 critters. Last year we had more than 180 photos. Submit your photo(s) before midnight Sunday, Aug. 12 here: http://bit.ly/Vote2019DogDays Then, come back and visit the pooches all that next week and vote on your favorite before midnight Saturday, Aug 17. Vote once a day. The top vote-getters will be featured in the annual Going to the Dogs section on Saturday, Aug. 24. Share with your friends and family: #Going2TheDogsNW Now, who’s a good boy? Who’s a good girl? For more information, call The Astorian at (800) 781-3211 w w w. E n g l u n d M a r i n e. c o m
