VANCOUVER—RCMP say there’s no indication a body found in northern B.C. on Friday is connected to the high-profile double homicide that left an Australian man and an American woman dead earlier this week.

Police in northeastern British Columbia are currently investigating a double homicide involving two young travellers: 23-year old Lucas Robertson Fowler, of Australia, and 24-year old Chynna Noelle Deese, a U.S. woman.

On Monday, the pair was found dead along the Alaska Highway near Liard Hot Springs, south of the B.C.-Yukon boundary.

Then, on Friday, police responded to a vehicle fire south of the Stikine River Bridge on Highway 37, where they found a man’s body nearby.

Both RCMP and B.C. Coroner Service are in the preliminary stages of investigating that death.

Reports from outside of B.C. had surfaced Saturday linking the latest body with the double homicide but RCMP Sgt. Janelle Shoihet told Star Vancouver those reports were inaccurate.

Read more: RCMP investigating ‘devastating’ double homicide of Australian man, U.S. woman in northeastern B.C.

“There’s no indication these two investigations are connected at this time,” she told Star Vancouver Saturday morning.

“People are just too quick to assume because two incidents happened in northern B.C.,” she said. “A lot of that is coming from outside of our province. They don’t realize how vast B.C. is.”

The two incidents happened a seven-hour drive from each other, according to Shoihet.

She added there were no updates on the double homicide investigation as of Saturday morning.

When asked if there had been previous issues on the portion of Highway 97 where Fowler’s and Deese’s bodies were found, she said the incident was “highly unusual.”

“That area of the highway is remote, but it is well travelled because those hot springs are destination points for many tourists, and it’s a throughway to Alberta, to Yukon, to Alaska,” she said.

“There’s nothing to indicate there has been any spike in crime or anything that would have led up to this.”

On Friday, Shoihet said the “investigation is in its very infancy, and it is not yet clear whether Lucas and Chynna were targeted or if this was a crime of opportunity.”

Investigators have made an appeal for information or dash cam video from anyone who may have been travelling along the northern stretch of highway last weekend or spoken with the couple between the afternoon of July 14 and the morning of July 15. Police say a blue 1986 Chevrolet minivan with Alberta plates was found at the scene.

Meanwhile, the families of the two young victims are still reeling from the tragic news.

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Nine News, an Australian news source, spoke with Fowler’s father, New South Wales Police Chief Inspector Stephen Fowler, when the family stopped in Los Angeles on their way to B.C.

“We’re just in a very bad place,” said Fowler, who called his son was a “wonderful boy.”

“We’re just crushed,” he said.

In a statement released by the New South Wales Police Force, the Fowler family said, “To lose someone so young and vibrant, who was travelling the world and just enjoying life to the full, is devastating.”

“To know his beautiful girlfriend, Chynna Deese of Charlotte, N.C., also lost her life in this violent event is too cruel. All our love and best wishes got to Chynna’s family and friends,” the family said.

Deese’s sibling Kennedy posted a statement to Facebook on Thursday, which said the family is “still in shock and heartbroken.”

“They were bright and beautiful souls,” the post says.

RCMP said in a statement that “We recognize this news is troubling for the entire community and absolutely appreciate there are concerns for safety in an area that is popular with nature enthusiasts and tourists.”

“At this point, we have nothing to indicate that their deaths are linked to any other active and ongoing investigations in the area, or if there is a heightened risk to public safety,” the statement said.

On Sunday, Shoihet said the investigative team has access to specialized units and support from across the province and outside if needed.

With files from Cherise Seucharan and the Canadian Press

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