A woman who lives near a trail in Alberta is feeling shaken after the suspects in three murders in northern B.C. were reportedly sighted there.
Caitlin Gillespie lives in a cul-de-sac in Cold Lake, Alta., near a trail where a vehicle carrying 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky reportedly became stuck in mud.
“It’s a dead end, it goes to nowhere,” Gillespie told Global News. “And people are constantly just getting stuck in there and they come, they knock on our door.”
In a press release, RCMP confirmed the suspects had been spotted in the town.
Police said that a Cold Lake resident noticed that a vehicle became stuck in the mud behind a residence at around 9:30 a.m. on July 21.
WATCH: Aerial view of remote Manitoba community where alleged sighting of B.C. suspects reported
“Two younger males were observed outside of a Toyota RAV-4,” the release said. “The resident assisted the pair in getting unstuck, and they continued on their way after a short, unremarkable interaction.”
Gillespie said she wasn’t home when the encounter took place, but immediately thought of the area near her home when she heard the suspects were spotted in town.
She and her husband have helped people stuck in the mud on numerous occasions, she said.
“Tow truck companies won’t even come back there and help them out anymore, and half the time we can’t even get them out either,” she said.
Gillespie said the situation has made her think twice about lending a helping hand to those who become stuck.
“After we saw the article saying that they were out in the back alley, we said, like, that’s it, we can’t go back there and help anymore,” she said.
“I mean, you want to, but at the end of the day you got to think about your own safety.”
WATCH: RCMP cuts back on York Landing search as B.C. murder manhunt hits 8th day
A number of young families and elderly people live in the cul-de-sac where the suspects were reportedly seen, Gillespie said.
“It’s really scary because I mean your first thought is to trust people,” she said.
“I mean, especially young people like teenagers… you don’t think anything bad.”
In a Facebook post, user Tommy Ste-Croix said he was the one who unknowingly helped the men free their vehicle from the trail.
Two days later, Schmegelsky and McLeod, two friends from Port Alberni B.C., were named as suspects in the shooting deaths of Australian Lucas Fowler and American Chynna Deese.
The bodies of Fowler and Deese were found close to the Alaska Highway in northern B.C. on July 15.
WATCH: Tips pour in as manhunt wears on for BC murder suspects
The men have also been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Vancouver man Leonard Dyck.
“My big heart could of (sic) got me killed,” Ste-Croix wrote on Facebook.
“Wish I’d of (sic) known,” he wrote. “Something wasn’t right with these guys. Even shook their hands after getting them unstuck.”
According to Ste-Croix, the men appeared the same as in photos released by the RCMP.
He claims the pair gave him their real names.
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Global News has reached out to Ste-Croix for comment, but did not hear back by time of publication.
McLeod and Schmegelsky were spotted in Meadow Lake, Sask. on the same day that Ste-Croix claims to have helped the suspects.
The vehicle that Ste-Croix said he helped pull from the mud was later found burned out near Gillam, Man. on July 22.
The remote town, located approximately 1,300 km from Meadow Lake, has been the focus of a massive manhunt for the last eight days.
RCMP have conducted a door-to-door canvass, employed sniffing dogs and enlisted the help of the Canadian Armed Forces to search the dense, boggy terrain surrounding the community.
On Sunday, members of the Bear Clan Patrol, an Indigenous-led neighbourhood watch group, spotted two men scavenging at a landfill in the community of York Landing, Man.
As a result, an extensive ground search was conducted in York Landing; however, police said they could not substantiate the tip about the sighting in that community.
The suspects were not located.
RCMP announced on Tuesday that resources were being pulled from the area.
WATCH: RCMP: Searching York Landing wasn’t a waste of time
“The heavy police presence in York Landing has been withdrawn and policing resources in the community will return to normal,” RCMP Manitoba tweeted.
“The RCMP thanks the community for their patience and understanding.”
RCMP said the pair may have changed their appearance, and are still considered to be armed and dangerous.
— With files from Rachael D’amore and Jesse Ferreras
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