The weeks long nation-wide manhunt for two B.C. teens concluded Wednesday, after Mounties discovered two bodies they believe are Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky.
An autopsy to confirm identity and determine cause of death is scheduled in Winnipeg for Thursday.
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"At this time, we believe these are the bodies of the two suspects, wanted in connection with the homicides in British Columbia," said Asst. Commissioner Jane MacLatchy said at a news conference Wednesday.
MacLatchy said the autopsy will also determine how long the pair had been dead for before the bodies were discovered.
"I'm confident that it is them. But to identify them officially and to be sure we have to go to autopsy," MacLatchy said.
The two teens were named suspects in the deaths of Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese, who were found dead on the side of a remote portion of the Alaska Highway last month.
McLeod, 19, and Schmegelsky, 18, were also charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, whose body was discovered over 400 kilometres away in Dease Lake, close to where their first vehicle was found abandoned and burned.
In B.C., Mounties say their investigation is ongoing and they are considering whether they will seek charge approval from BC Prosecution Service.
"We still have a mountain of evidence that we have to go through and determine what evidence would be important for charge approval," Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet told CTV News Vancouver.
"We want to have the best package that we can and the best information to present to the BC Prosecution Service for them to make a determination of charge approval, if indeed that is an option for us."
Shoihet said B.C. officers felt a sense of relief after hearing Wednesday's major update, even though it was not the ending investigators would have wanted.
"We may never have the answers that we're looking for," she said.
