# Strange things in Northern BC: quintuple murder, by one guy, or triple murder by two guys? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 24, 2019, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524 "2019-07-24T01:44:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/21 "2019-08-01T03:45:58Z")
They are far, far away from the US , and as far as is known, without a vehicle. Northern Manitoba is extremely remote. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/22 "2019-08-01T05:03:52Z")
> [@Dongyang2016](#): > > Has any Canadian criminal on the run try to make it to the USA to hide? I know that sometimes American criminals go north to Canada. Likely a few have, but owing to a lot of cooperation between police and other authorities on both sides of the border, plus the extradition treaties that exist between the two countries, it’s not a guarantee of getting away. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > They are far, far away from the US , and as far as is known, without a vehicle. Northern Manitoba is extremely remote. CTV News was reporting today that they may have been spotted in Kapuskasing, Ontario. The news had few details on this angle, but I guess we will see whether it can be confirmed, or whether it was a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/23 "2019-08-01T05:29:51Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > The one Dad has already written a book. Nothing like capitalizing on your son’s murder spree before he is even caught… How do you write a book in two weeks? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/24 "2019-08-01T05:32:10Z")
You hire a ghostwriter, who can hammer out a book in two weeks, and who agrees to put your name on it. ---
**Author:** ![Fundisi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Fundisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fundisi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/25 "2019-08-01T11:55:18Z")
Sounds like the Canadians need to revive [Mantracker](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1429752/) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/26 "2019-08-02T01:59:05Z")
> [@Dongyang2016](#): > > Has any Canadian criminal on the run try to make it to the USA to hide? I know that sometimes American criminals go north to Canada. Travis Baumgartner comes to mind. > [@](#): > > Baumgartner, a trainee armed guard with G4S Cash Solutions, gunned down his four co-workers, killing Michelle Shegelski, Edgardo Rejano and Brian Ilesic, and leaving a fourth, Matthew Schuman, with serious brain injuries… > > After a two-day manhunt, he was arrested while trying to cross the border into Lynden, Wash. He had $333,580 in cash in a backpack when he was captured. > **[Travis Baumgartner | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers](https://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/baumgartner-travis.htm)** > > Travis Baumgartner, an armoured car guard who shot and killed three colleagues during a robbery in Edmonton, Canada, was sentenced to life in prison in 2013. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/27 "2019-08-02T02:21:32Z")
Reckon they’re dead already? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/28 "2019-08-02T03:45:29Z")
Wouldn’t be surprised. It’s pretty unforgiving terrain. There’s no indication that they stole another vehicle to get out, and if they’ve been there in the bush for a week, you have to wonder what they’re eating. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/29 "2019-08-02T05:31:57Z")
They had plenty of time to buy lots of provisions. The terrain may be unforgiving, but it’s not _that_ dangerous. The predators in the area are mostly the type that avoid humans if possible, except for the occasional polar bear if they’re headed north towards Churchill. There’s really no reason to think they’d be dead after a week or two. It takes quite a while to starve if you start out with some rations. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/30 "2019-08-02T13:52:37Z")
If they are still in the Gillam area, their worst problem for the next month will be getting lost and bogged down. After that, the weather will not be as nice, and I would not give them odds of surviving the winter. If they have not hitched or stolen a ride south yet, the seasons’ clock is ticking against them. At this time of year the weather is good – hot in the day, cool at night, but not so cool at night as to be a problem. The bugs in the day will be a nasty em_bug_gerance, but won’t disable or kill the killers. The terrain up that way near Gillam is OK, but since it is relatively flat there are a lot of wetlands, so they wouldn’t get far on foot off-road (muskeg is miserable to try to walk on without breaking through). The fish are plentiful, so if the murderers have half a brain between them they should not starve (when a co-worker and I were fishing between between Gillam and Thompson, it was cast and reel in a fish, cast and reel in a fish – no sitting about waiting for a fish to bite). If they can’t figure out how to catch suicidal fish, they can get some sustenance from ants which are more than plentiful and easy to find in the somewhat sandy soil type. Gillam is in black bear country, but it is exceedingly rare for a black bear to hunt a person (although it would be ironic if a crazed black bear killed the two crazed murderers). Gillam is at the extreme southern limit of polar bears, so the odds of coming across one are remote. Grizzly bears are extirpated in Manitoba, but occasionally one wanders through, so again the odds of coming across one are remote. In any event, being two tall men and a gun significantly improves their odds should there be a chance encounter with a hungry bear. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/31 "2019-08-03T04:01:17Z")
Interesting article about a couple of Germans canoeing who had to trek through the wilderness instead: > **[Can the fugitives survive the Manitoba wilderness? Ask these German tourists....](https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/can-the-fugitives-survive-the-manitoba-wilderness-ask-these-german-tourists/)** > > Two stranded adventurers trekked 120 km to Gillam over 10 days—nearly as long as Schmegelsky and McLeod have been on the run ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/32 "2019-08-03T15:22:57Z")
[They could be in Ontario](https://globalnews.ca/news/5712583/ontario-suspicious-bc-murder-suspects-manhunt/): > [@](#): > > The uneasiness felt across northern Manitoba over two fugitives believed to be dangerous may be brewing in Ontario. > > Provincial police confirmed Wednesday that officers received a report of two “suspicious” men driving a white vehicle through a construction site near Highway 11 in Kapuskasing, Ont., at around 10:30 a.m. > > The caller told police they believed the men inside the vehicle were Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod — the friends accused in the deaths of three people in northern British Columbia. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/33 "2019-08-03T16:50:50Z")
> **[Ontario police chase down tips in search for suspects in northern B.C. murders...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ont-northern-bc-murders-1.5235682)** > > Ontario Provincial Police have assigned a team of investigators to look into a spike in tips regarding two young men wanted in multiple murders in British Columbia. > [@](#): > > Paola Loriggio · The Canadian Press · Posted: Aug 03, 2019 11:10 AM ET > > . . . . > > A few possible sightings were reported in Ontario at a time when the hunt for the suspects was focused in Manitoba, and those were dealt with by local detachments, said Staff Sgt. Carolle Dionne. > > But reports have been pouring in over recent days, with more than 30 coming in over eight hours Thursday, she said. As a result, a team was created to investigate the tips in a centralized manner, including revisiting earlier reports, she said. The possible sighting in Kap stood out because it was alleged that one of the persons in the vehicle waived a gun while passing a road construction crew. When I first saw the photo of McLeod I did a double take, for he looks just like one of my telemark students. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/34 "2019-08-03T17:08:52Z")
Too many sightings and tips from BC to Ontario. For all I know, they could be doing manual labor in the Northwest Territories and not be found for years. I will say this though: people aren’t kidding when they say Canada is Huge. Also, living/breathing people are found… even in Canada… lots faster than corpses in far remote woods. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/35 "2019-08-07T19:30:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Two bodies found in Canada are believed to be of the two teen suspects wanted for multiple murders, officials said at a press conference on Wednesday. > > “At 10am this morning, Manitoba RCMP officers located the bodies of two males, believed to be the BC suspects, near the shoreline of the Nelson River (approx 8km from the burnt vehicle),” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement on Twitter. > > “The search is over,” officials said. > **[Bodies found in Canada believed to be teen suspects wanted for multiple...](https://abcnews.go.com/International/canadian-police-send-divers-river-nationwide-manhunt-teen/story?id=64798060)** > > Canadian police sent divers into a river over the weekend to search for signs of two teenage boys who are suspected of killing three people. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/36 "2019-08-07T19:41:40Z")
Well, that would explain why the FLIR-equipped aircraft weren’t finding anything. No word yet on cause of death. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/37 "2019-08-07T19:48:44Z")
I’ve been following this story over the past two weeks, and I think a former RCMP officer interviewed by the CBC summed it up well. The search activity in the northern Manitoba area where they were last seen was one of the most intensive manhunts I’ve heard about in recent years. It included aircraft and helicopters with infrared imaging and extensive ground searches including door-to-door searches of every building in Gillam, MB and the town of York Landing that they might have reached, and roadblocks out of the area. So earlier on he had speculated that either they had help from someone to escape well away from the area, or else they would be found deceased. Cause of death will be determined by an autopsy but I’m going to guess suicide was a likely possibility, as they were in deep wilderness with no resources and the whole country on the lookout for them. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/38 "2019-08-07T20:36:39Z")
The folks between Thomson and the Bay must be very relieved. Gotta wonder if the murderers killed themselves 'cause that’s what psycho killers often do, or if they could not handle the bugs. Part of me is sad that whatever small piece of humanity that might have remained in them could not be helped, but an even bigger part of me says “good riddance.” I hope that knowing what has become of the murderers will help the grieving parents and the grieving spouse as they try to find closure over the years. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/39 "2019-08-07T21:54:02Z")
They were only 5 miles from their car. I wondered if they are 2 more victims and the killer is still out there? There really wasn’t anything to confirm them as the killers except their presumed absence from the scene, was there? StG ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524/40 "2019-08-08T00:27:27Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > They were only 5 miles from their car. I wondered if they are 2 more victims and the killer is still out there? There really wasn’t anything to confirm them as the killers except their presumed absence from the scene, was there? Yes there was, but I haven’t seen many details about the evidence. They were charged with the murder of UBC botany prof Leonard Dyck and were suspects in the murder of the other couple, and murder charges aren’t laid lightly. They were also described as armed and dangerous and the subjects of one of the most extensive manhunts ever. They torched their own car and were obviously on the run. The evidence against them was obviously a lot more than just a hunch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-in-northern-bc-quintuple-murder-by-one-guy-or-triple-murder-by-two-guys/837524.md?page=3)