Officers were searching a community in the Canadian province of Manitoba on Sunday after a possible sighting of the two teens suspected of at least three murders – not excluding the murder of an American woman and her Australian boyfriend, police said.
Authorities also told residents in the area to stay indoors an make sure their doors are locked at home.
Chief Leroy Constant with York Factory First Nation said that Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) would be conducting a search for Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky “in our community of York Landing” after a “possible sighting” around a landfill on Sunday night.
About two-and-a-half hours later he added, “Police have deployed multiple resources in the area of York Landing” in an attempt to apprehend the suspects.
Constant said the suspects had not been caught and that RCMP would stay in the area with helicopters, police dogs and emergency response teams “until further notice.”
He said “heavily armored officers” were “conducting ground searches with dogs,” but helicopters and drones were limited because of heavy winds.
“Everyone please remain indoors with your doors locked. And all vehicles should be parked,” Constant advised.
RCMP confirmed its presence in the area tweeting on Sunday evening that multiple police resources were being sent to York Landing “to investigate a tip that the two suspects are possibly in, or near, the community.”
“A heavy police presence can be expected in the area,” the tweet continued.
A source close to the investigation told Fox News on Saturday that McLeod and Schmegelsky may have escaped from the Manitoba town where they were last seen “with someone who is not police friendly.”
The source added that the two may have changed their appearances and also offered cash to a driver to leave the area of Gillam, a town of approximately 1,200 people in the north of the province. Gillam is about a four-hour drive from York Landing.