Police say manhunt suspects died by apparent suicide by gunfire

VANCOUVER — The RCMP say two British Columbia men who led police on a cross-Canada manhunt died by what appears to be suicide by gunfire.

Police say Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod appeared to be dead for a number of days before their bodies were found in northern Manitoba but the exact time of their deaths isn’t known.

However, police say in a statement that there were strong indications that the teens had been alive for a few days since they were last seen in July and during the extensive search efforts in the Gillam area.

Police say two firearms were located with the dead men and forensic analysis is underway to “definitively confirm” that the weapons are connected with the northern B.C. homicide investigations.

McLeod and Schmegelsky were charged with the murder of Leonard Dyck, a University of British Columbia botany lecturer, and were also suspects in the deaths of American Chynna Dease and her Australian boyfriend Lucas Fowler.

The RCMP say once its review has been completed in the next few weeks it will provide the families with an update and then will release the information publicly.

The Canadian Press