PORT ALBERNI, B.C.—A search for a pair of missing young men has turned into a dramatic, nationwide manhunt with the RCMP declaring the pair suspects in the high-profile slaying of two tourists and in the suspicious death of another man in northern British Columbia.

The turn of events Tuesday ended days of rampant speculation and came after the Mounties had initially said there was no indication of a connection between the disappearance of Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky and the grisly killing of Australian Lucas Fowler and American Chynna Noelle Deese.

It’s believed McLeod, 19, and Schmegelsky, 18, meanwhile, may be making their way across the northern part of the country — with RCMP reporting a possible sighting of the pair in northern Manitoba on Tuesday.

Mounties said the two were “considered dangerous.”

The deaths of Fowler, 23 and Deese, 24, made international headlines after they were found shot to death on the side of the Alaska Highway south of the B.C.-Yukon border July 15. Four days later, RCMP responded to reports of a burning truck south of Stikine River Bridge on Highway 37, near Dease Lake, B.C. While investigating the vehicle fire, police discovered the body of an unidentified man at a highway pullout about two kilometres away.

RCMP have not disclosed how the unidentified man died, but they released a composite drawing of the heavy-set, middle-aged man with a bushy beard in an attempt to identify him. The burning truck was last seen being driven by McLeod and Schmegelsky in Dease Lake, which is located about a seven-hour drive from where Fowler and Deese were killed.

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That McLeod and Schmegelsky have now been connected to both incidents has sent shock waves through their hometown on Vancouver Island — and has prompted calls for missing persons cases in the area to be revisited.

Family members of Kam McLeod’s were visibly upset at their Port Alberni property on Tuesday. Signs reading “no trespassing, privacy please” were posted outside the home, and a woman and man shouted their refusal to speak to media.

A woman at the home of McLeod’s grandparents said, “We are totally stressed, it’s a nightmare, and we do not want to talk.”

The RCMP have been in contact with both teens’ families to ask for help in finding them, said Sgt. Janelle Shoihet.

The two worked at the Walmart in Port Alberni and have been best friends since elementary school, according to Al Schmegelsky, Bryer Schmegelsky’s father. He spoke with Star Vancouver on Monday afternoon, before police announced his son was a suspect in a homicide investigation. Al Schmelgesky has not responded to further requests for comment since the RCMP news conference.

RCMP describe Schmegelsky as six-foot-four, about 169 pounds, with sandy brown hair. McLeod is described as six-foot-four, approximately 169 pounds, with brown eyes, dark brown hair and facial hair. Police are warning the public not to approach them and to take no action other than to call 911.

Shoihet said the teens might have changed their appearance and may be driving a different vehicle than the grey 2011 Toyota RAV4 they were seen driving Monday.

Lucas Fowler’s father, Stephen Fowler, who is a chief investigator with the New South Wales police department in Australia, said during Monday’s police news conference that no amount of experience dealing with violent crime could have prepared him and his family for the loss, which is compounded by the knowledge that Lucas died pursuing his dream of travelling with someone he loved.

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“My son was travelling the world…. they teamed up and fell in love,” Fowler said Monday. “It’s a love story that ended tragically, it really is.”

Deese is from Charlotte, N.C., and attended Appalachian State University and was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha. In a Facebook post dated July 18, the sorority wrote about Deese: “It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of our sister, Chynna Deese, who recently passed. She was such a kind and adventurous soul and we have been honored to call her our sister.”

Cpl. Chris Manseau, spokesperson for the RCMP in B.C., told Star Vancouver Tuesday that an alert was sent out to detachments nationwide and that air service and canine units were being deployed in the investigation.

RCMP reported Tuesday that the pair may have been sighted in Gillam, Manitoba, a town more than 1,000 miles north of Winnipeg. But if they did arrive in Gillam, they would have to make their way back west, or journey north, as the town is the last stop on the 280 highway before it turns north toward Churchill.

Just 24 hours prior, police had characterized the search for McLeod and Schmegelsky as an investigation into two missing teens who had not been in touch with their families for a few days during their road trip north to find work in Whitehorse.

Claudia Bunce, owner of the Cassiar Mountain Jade Store in Jade City, B.C., said the pair stopped in last Thursday, the day before their burning truck and the body of the unidentified man were found about 115 kilometres away near Dease Lake.

The staff member who saw the boys was too shaken to speak to a reporter, but Bunce said the boys arrived in the truck and visited the store for free coffee. She said they were on their own and she doesn’t believe they had a conversation with the employee.

“I don’t think they stood out any more than any other teenage boys who were just on the road,” she said. “We’re a very busy store.”

She said the situation is very frightening for everyone who lives in the remote area.

“As you can imagine, the community is very upset about this,” Bunce said. “It’s very rural — beyond rural. We’re on a highway with no cell service. Most of us don’t have power. So it’s unnerving.”

RCMP were at the store on Tuesday gathering hours of surveillance footage and interviewing staff members. Bunce said she didn’t know exactly what time last Thursday the young men were in the store.

Police acknowledged Monday afternoon that there was public concern that the three deaths in the remote northern area were related. RCMP advised people travelling in the area to use caution, but at the time, McLeod and Schmegelsky were not described as suspects.

Cindy Simpson, the mother of Ontario woman Ashley Simpson who vanished nearly three years ago near Salmon Arm, B.C., said she was disappointed police did not alert the public immediately as soon as they discovered the “missing” young men were actually suspects.

“How long does it take to call a press conference? Even if it was a matter of hours between when the police had the information and the public was informed, that’s not good enough. It should’ve been ASAP.”

Simpson said that because the men were previously thought to be missing, people who may have come across them may have approached them to offer help and could have put themselves at risk.

“That would’ve been me or anybody driving alone, thinking ‘Oh here’s the young men that were reported missing. I’ll give them a ride to the next town.’ Hopefully, that didn’t happen, and no one else lost their lives that police are aware of,” Simpson told Star Vancouver.

With files from Joanna Chiu and The Canadian Press

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