Canada murders: Police release CCTV of couple amid fears of serial killer
Detectives say the case could be linked to the disappearance of two teenagers and the discovery of a third body 290 miles away.
Tuesday 23 July 2019 18:37, UK
Police in Canada have released CCTV footage of a couple who were later found shot dead on a remote highway in the country's northwest.
The video shows Australian Lucas Fowler, 23, and his 24-year-old American girlfriend Chynna Deese at a petrol station in Fort Nelson, British Columbia on 13 July.
Sergeant Janelle Shoihet of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said: "That video surveillance footage shows the couple arriving in Lucas's van at approximately 7.30pm and departing the gas station at 7.47pm."
In it, Mr Fowler fills the tank, while Ms Deese washes the van's back windows. They are seen hugging before she walks into the gas station.
The bodies of the pair were discovered 189 miles (305km) further north along the Alaska Highway 12 miles (20km) south of Liard Hot Springs, a popular tourist spot.
Police believe they were murdered between 4pm local time on 14 July and 7am the next morning.
Their 1986 blue Chevrolet minivan, seen in the surveillance video, was found near their bodies, and eyewitnesses told media they had earlier seen the pair on the side of the road when their van had broken down.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also published a composite sketch of a person of interest who a witness said was seen talking to Mr Fowler on the side of the road.
The man has a beard with darker skin and was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a black stripe on the hood.
On Monday, detectives said the case could be linked to the disappearance of two teenagers and the discovery of a third body 290 miles (470km) away, sparking fears of a serial killer at large.
Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are still considered missing.
Their burnt-out camper van was found along the side of the road near Dease Lake on Friday, almost 311 miles (500km) away from where Mr Fowler and Ms Deese were found.
An unidentified body, believed to be that of a man in his 50s or 60s, was found burned not far from the teenagers' van.
Mr Fowler, the son of a chief inspector with the New South Wales Police Department, was living in British Columbia and
Ms Deese was visiting him.
They were on a two-week-long road trip across Canada, where Lucas Fowler had been working.
On Monday, police apologised after a cat filter was used during a Facebook live-streaming of a news conference about the double murder, which gave the presiding officer whiskers and ears.