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American and Australian tourists killed in Canada Mystery deepens over murder of tourist couple in Canada
(about 5 hours later)
Canadian police are investigating the murder of two young travellers who were shot in northern British Columbia. Police investigating the murder of two young travellers in Canada say the case could be linked to the disappearance of two teenagers and the discovery of a third body 470km (290 miles) away.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) says American Chynna Deese, 24, and Australian Lucas Fowler, 23, were found dead last week. American Chynna Deese, 24, and Australian Lucas Fowler, 23, were shot dead in British Colombia last week.
Fowler's father is a senior member of the New South Wales Police Force and has come to Canada with two colleagues. On Monday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) released a composite of a man they want to speak to.
Stephen Fowler described the murder of his son and his son's girlfriend as "a love story that ended tragically". Witnesses saw him speaking to Fowler by the road where they were later found.
"I may be an experienced police officer but today I am standing here as the father of a murder victim," he told media at an RCMP news conference. Police have not described the man as a suspect in the case.
Two police officers from Australia have travelled to act as family liaisons during the RCMP investigation. Mr Fowler says they will not get involved in the case directly. What happened to the couple?
They were on a two-week-long road trip across Canada, where Lucas Fowler had been working.
The couple were found shot dead on the side of the Alaska highway 20km (12 miles) south of Liard Hot Springs - a popular tourist spot.
Police believe their murder occurred between 16:00 local time (23:00 GMT) on 14 July and 07:00 the next morning.
Their 1986 blue Chevrolet minivan was found near their bodies, and eyewitnesses told media they had earlier seen the pair on the side of the road when their van had broken down.
It took three days for police to identify the couple.
Lucas Fowler's father, Stephen, described the murder of his son and his girlfriend as "a love story that ended tragically" on Monday.
The young couple met at a hostel in Croatia in 2017, and had travelled the world together since.
"Our son Lucas was having the time of his life travelling the world. He met a beautiful young lady and they teamed up, they were a great pair and they fell in love," he said.
Fowler's father is a senior member of the New South Wales Police Force and has travelled to Canada with two other officers acting as family liaisons during the RCMP investigation.
Stephen Fowler says they will not get involved in the case directly.
"I'm an experienced police officer and I know how these investigations can go," he said. "But I can tell you I am more than confident in all of the officers that are working on this case.""I'm an experienced police officer and I know how these investigations can go," he said. "But I can tell you I am more than confident in all of the officers that are working on this case."
Family of both victims say they had planned on travelling across Canada. What is the other case?
"They were bright and beautiful souls. We are all still in shock and heartbroken," Kennedy Deese, Chynna's sister, wrote on Facebook. Police are considering the possibility the couple's murder may be connected to the disappearance of two teenagers last Friday.
Their 1986 blue Chevrolet minivan was found near the bodies on the side of the Alaska Highway, near Liard Hot Springs, between Sunday and Monday. The springs are a popular tourist destination. Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are still considered missing.
Eyewitnesses told media they saw the couple on the side of the road when their van broke down, but that they seemed to have it under control. They had been on their way to Yukon territory for work last week and have not been in contact with their families since.
Police have a composite sketch of a man who was seen speaking to Lucas along the highway and are asking for the public's assistance, they believe he was driving an older Jeep Cherokee with a racing stripe on the top of the roof. Their burnt-out camper van was found along the side of the road near Dease Lake on Friday, almost 500km away from where Fowler and Deese were found.
The young couple met at a hostel in Croatia in 2017, and had travelled the world together since then. A body was found burned not far from Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky's van. It has not been identified but police believe he was a man in his 50s or 60s.
"Our son Lucas was having the time of his life travelling the world. He met a beautiful young lady and they teamed up, they were a great pair and they fell in love," Mr Fowler said. "It is unclear at this time how this deceased male might be connected with [the] vehicle fire or the two missing men," police said in a statement.
Second mystery On Monday, officials acknowledged the "growing community concern" about the twin murder investigations, after earlier dismissing a link.
Police are considering the possibility their murder may be connected to the disappearance of two teenagers last Friday. "It's unusual to have two major investigations of this nature going on at the same time in northern B.C. (British Columbia), so we recognise the possibility that these could be linked," Janelle Shoihet, public relations officer for the RCMP said.
Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are considered missing after their burnt-out camper van was found along the side of the road near Dease Lake on Friday, 500km (310 miles) away from where Fowler and Deese were found. Police are asking anyone with any information about either case to call Crimestoppers at 001-800-222-8477.
A third body was found burned not far from McLeod and Schmegelsky's van. It has not been identified but police do not believe it belongs to the missing young men.
Police are asking anyone with any information about either case is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.