A northern Manitoba community is on edge and under lockdown as the police search for two fugitive homicide suspects entered its second week Monday.
Over a dozen heavily armed police officers — using ground patrols, K-9 units, drones and helicopters — arrived in York Landing
on Sunday night, and about 20 more are expected to arrive Monday morning to help search for Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod, York Factory Cree Nation Chief Leroy Constant said.
"It doesn't feel real. It's very shocking and concerning to know that these two gentlemen are possibly here," he said.
Schmegelsky, 18, and McLeod, 19, both from Port Alberni, B.C., have been on the run for over a week.
They're suspects in the killings of Australian tourist Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend, Chynna Deese, and are charged with second-degree murder in the case of University of British Columbia lecturer Leonard Dyck.
On July 22, a burning vehicle that police believe was driven by the fugitives was found near Gillam, about 90 kilometres northeast of York Landing.
The focus shifted to York Landing after a member of the Bear Clan community patrol group spotted two people who match the description of the fugitives near the dump.
The sighting hasn't yet been confirmed by police. The last confirmed sighting was in the Gillam area.
York Factory Cree Nation is based in York Landing, a community of about 500 nearly 700 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
Roads in York Landing and surrounding the community are deserted, with the exception of police, as people have been told to stay indoors.
"You never anticipate or anything like this happening or them coming this way," Constant said. "To know that they're possibly in our community somewhere is very concerning."
The land surrounding the community is treacherous, filled with muskeg and with few paths, and Constant said it would be a miracle if the two men survived the trek from Gillam.
Police had been conducting door-to-door searches in Gillam and nearby Fox Lake Cree Nation. Members of the Canadian military were also called in to help.
Constables with Tataskweyak Cree Nation, also known as Split Lake, stopped the suspects in their vehicle at a gas bar last Monday as they drove through the community, before the vehicle was found burned near Gillam, said band councillor Nathan Neckoway.
Split Lake is a dry community and the constables were checking for any alcohol, and didn't know who the men were at the time, he said.
"They did see maps and maps and camping gear within that vehicle that were driving," he said.
Images of murder suspects Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky recorded in northern Saskatchewan a few days after three people were found dead in B.C. RCMP are investigating a tip they have been spotted in the remote community of York Landing, Manitoba. (RCMP)
After news broke that police were investigating the possibility the suspects were in York Landing, Fox Lake Chief Walter Spence released a statement expressing solidarity with the community.
"The ongoing stress of the large police, military and media presence in the community is starting to take its toll, and our community members look forward to a return to normalcy," he said in the statement.
Community members are asking for privacy in this difficult time, he said. He said they've received good communication from the RCMP, as well as support from other First Nations organizations and the Bear Clan.
Night patrols in York Landing were sent out to make sure no one was outside wandering around, Constant said.
"We don't want any anybody mistaken for a suspect."
The York Factory chief said people also have been asked to keep pets inside so as not to confuse the police dogs.