Canadian police say there have been two confirmed sightings of the teenagers suspected of murdering three people — including an Australian backpacker and his girlfriend — near a remote Manitoba town.

Key points: Police said there have been no reports of stolen cars, leading them to believe the pair were on foot

Police said there have been no reports of stolen cars, leading them to believe the pair were on foot Crisis negotiation teams are being deployed alongside other specialist units to Gillam

Crisis negotiation teams are being deployed alongside other specialist units to Gillam The suspects were charged on Thursday with second-degree murder

Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and Kam McLeod, 19, are being hunted by Canadian police in connection with the shooting deaths of Lucas Fowler — son of NSW Police Chief Inspector Stephen Fowler — and American Chynna Deese.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Thursday charged the pair with second-degree murder over the death of Leonard Dyck, 64, whose body was found 2 kilometres from their burnt-out pickup truck on July 19.

This morning, the RCMP said it believed the teenagers were still in northern Manitoba where their burnt-out and abandoned car was found on Tuesday (AEST).

Corporal Julia Courchaine said two sightings of Mr Schmegelsky and Mr McLeod were reported prior to the discovery of the burning vehicle, 70 kilometres outside of Gillam.

Mr Schmegelsky (L) and Mr McLeod (R) are childhood friends from Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. ( Instagram: Supplied )

The corporal said police had not received any reports of stolen vehicles, leading them to believe the suspects were on foot and camping in the woods.

"We can now confirm there have been two established and corroborated sightings of the suspects in the Gillam area," she said.

"At this point in the investigation, we believe they are still in the area. Manitoba RCMP has deployed a significant amount of resources [there]."

Corporal Courchaine said police had received around 80 tips from the public about the suspects and more information was coming in.

She added that crisis negotiation teams were being deployed alongside other specialist units to the area.

Police have repeatedly reminded the public not to approach the pair, who should be "considered dangerous".

Mr Schmegelsky and Mr McLeod were initially thought to be missing but police confirmed on Wednesday they were suspected of murdering Mr Lucas and Ms Deese, who were found shot dead next to their blue minivan in British Columbia on July 15.

Police confirmed yesterday a burnt-out car found at a reservoir outside Gillam was used by the teen fugitives. ( Supplied )

The hunt for the teenage fugitives shifted to 2,000 kilometres east to rural Manitoba after car the pair drove was found abandoned.

Gillam, a town of 1,300 people on the Nelson River in north-east Manitoba, is surrounded by thousands of hectares of forest wilderness.

Canadian specialist police have swarmed the remote town in search of the teenage fugitives. ( ABC News )

Mayor Dwayne Forman describes the town as being at "the end of the road".

"There's only one way in and one way out by road," Mr Forman said.

"We're as far as you can go north before you have to get on the train."

Corporal Courchaine said the northern Manitoba wilderness was "very challenging terrain" for police.

As well as the presence of wolves and bears, sand flies and mosquitoes are known to infest the surrounding wilderness during summer.

"This is a very large area, there is a lots of dense bush, swampy area so it is very challenging," she said.

A community in distress

The mayor of Gillam said residents were afraid to leave their homes at night since the police operation began. ( ABC News )

The police operation in Gillam has left local residents unnerved as heavily-armed tactical teams, police helicopters and drones descend upon the town in search of the fugitives.

Navneet Sahota, owner of Kettle River Inn and Suites, said Gillam was a place where nobody locked their doors.

Since news the pair were likely hiding nearby, this had changed, she said.

"It's been hectic, the community is in distress … [they're] freaking out because we're not used to this," Ms Sahota said.

"There are definitely a lot of lot of community members that haven't gotten sleep I know that for sure last night."

Alan Schmegelsky, the father of one of the suspects, told Canadian media the pair considered themselves survivalists.

"[They] liked to go into the woods and play war," he said, adding the pair "know how to hide".

Alan and his son Bryer Schmegelsky as a child. ( Facebook: Supplied )

On Thursday, Mr Schmegelsky broke down in tears as he predicted his son would "go out in a blaze of glory" in a confrontation with police.

"Bryer. I love you. I'm so sorry this all had to happen. I'm so sorry that I couldn't rescue you."