Article content

Two teen fugitives suspected in a killing spree in British Columbia looked like scared kids with “soft baby hands,” according to an Alberta man who helped free their SUV when it got stuck in the mud.

Tommy Ste-Croix, of Cold Lake in northeastern Alberta, said he realized only afterwards he had a potentially dangerous encounter when he unwittingly towed the SUV used by Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, out of the mud.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'My big heart could have got me killed': Albertan unknowingly helped B.C. fugitives Back to video

At the time, the pair was considered missing, not suspects or fugitives.

“Can’t see those kids killing anyone. Can’t even shake a hand properly, lol. Soft baby hands,” Ste-Croix said in Facebook posts to his friends about the incident, which was confirmed by the RCMP.

“My big heart could of got me killed,” he said.

Photo by Tommy Ste-Croix / Facebook

A Toyota SUV was spotted stranded in mud behind Cold Lake hospital on Sunday, July 21. When told about it, he decided to head over to help the driver out.

He shook the two young men’s hands after pulling the Toyota RAV4 free and they even gave him their real names, he said. Only later were they identified publicly as murder suspects and he realized how differently the encounter could have ended.