After hours of searching by the RCMP in York Landing, Manitoba on Sunday evening, two young homicide suspects remain at large.

The Mounties expanded their manhunt for Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, on Sunday afternoon. RCMP Manitoba said in a tweet a large police presence could be expected in York Landing. The tiny community of 450 people is a four-hour drive from Gillam, where authorities have been searching for the suspects all week.

The Mounties are investigating “a tip that the two suspects are possibly in, or near, the community,” read the original RCMP tweet. Social media commentary suggested the two had been captured by police.

But the RCMP said in a follow up tweet that this wasn’t the case.

“Despite reports – there is no one in custody at this time,” it read.

According to a Facebook post from Chief Leroy Constant of York Factory First Nation, the RCMP deployed helicopters, dogs, and their emergency response team on Sunday to try and catch both suspects.

Officers continue to search the area, he said on Sunday evening, but heavy winds are limiting the use of helicopters and drones.

“We are urging everyone to remain indoors with windows and doors locked,” Constant wrote.

Police are asking members of the public to refrain from posting photos of RCMP presence in the community because doing so could reveal officers’ locations.

Rhonda Saunders said she first heard of the police presence in a Facebook message from her family Sunday afternoon.

“It’s making me nervous — I can hear choppers right now,” she told The Star. “I think there’s two of them patrolling the area.”

RCMP have said in recent days that the two suspects, Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, may have left the Gillam area.

The two Port Alberni, B.C., teens are charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, a botany professor at the University of British Columbia. They are also suspects in the fatal shootings of Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese. All three homicides happened in northern B.C.

Despite the possible presence of two suspected killers, York Landing resident Savannah Massan said she was curious rather than afraid.

“I’m not scared at all because this is a small town and everyone protects each other,” she said.

Helicopters could be heard rumbling in the background during Massan’s brief interview with The Star.

York Factory First Nation Chief Leroy Constant announced RCMP officers would be arriving in York Landing to look for the two suspects on his personal Facebook page.

He asked community members to remain indoors with their doors locked.

Police, with the help of the military, are continuing their search for the two suspects in the Gillam area as well.

“Officers are searching cottages, cabins, waterways, and along the rail line for any signs of the suspects. This search of remote areas is being conducted both on foot and in the air. The terrain is immense and varied (with) lakes, ponds, muskeg etc.,” the RCMP statement said.

In a statement Saturday, the military said a Canadian Air Force CC-130H Hercules aircraft from 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron in Winnipeg will assist with an aerial search.

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A RCMP officer will be on board the aircraft to direct the search, according to the statement.

Police have said Schmegelsky and McLeod may have changed their appearance to try to evade the intense manhunt that includes officers from several jurisdictions searching on foot, with dogs and using drones.

The suspects may have managed to slip out of the Gillam area as well, RCMP warned.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said Saturday that it has requested help from the Bear Clan Patrol, an Indigenous-led neighbourhood watch group.

A statement from the assembly said the group is co-ordinating teams to fly to First Nations communities, including Fox Lake Cree Nation, York Factory First Nation, and War Lake First Nation.

“The patrol groups will provide a sense of security to our First Nations communities that are now facing a great deal of uncertainty. As we roll out this strategy, we ask that all community members continue to co-operate with the RCMP. If anyone spots these two young men, please contact the RCMP right away — do not put yourself at risk. Keep your doors locked and your kids close,” Acting Grand Chief Sheldon Kent said in the statement.

Meanwhile, in McLeod and Schmegelsky’s hometown of Port Alberni, B.C., the grandparents of both men are staying quiet.

The front window curtains of Schmegelsky’s grandmother’s house were drawn closed, save for a small opening through which Star Vancouver reporters saw a face briefly peering out.

But posted on the door was a notice: “We request that you respect our privacy at this time, by keeping off our property and not ringing the doorbell or banging on our door. You have become a nuicance (sic) to us and our neighbours. We will not be making any statement.”

A burned-out RAV4 that Schmegelsky and McLeod were travelling in was found near Gillam this week. Police have said there have been no reports of stolen vehicles since then.

Mounties are asking anyone who may have unwittingly helped the suspects in their travels to come forward. RCMP Cpl. Julie Courchaine said police aren’t confirming that’s what happened, but investigators aren’t ruling out any possibilities.

“It is possible that someone may not have been aware of who they were providing assistance to, and may now be hesitant to come forward,” she said at an RCMP update in Winnipeg on Friday.

Courchaine urged the public across the country to keep a careful watch out for the pair.

With files from Jeremy Nuttall, Joanna Chiu, Omar Mosleh and The Canadian Press

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