The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say they are investigating a sighting of two “suspicious” men that the complainant believed to be B.C. murder suspects Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod.
According to OPP, on Wednesday at around 10:30 a.m., a white vehicle was seen driving suspiciously through a construction site on Highway 11 in the northern Ontario town of Kapuskasing.
Kapuskasing is located approximately 460 kilometres north of Sudbury.
The OPP has not confirmed if this was, in fact, a sighting of the wanted men, saying only that the force is investigating a report of “two suspicious males.”
According to the OPP, officers have been actively patrolling but have not located the vehicle.
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“The OPP is continuing to investigate this incident and is actively looking for the vehicle,” a press release reads.
Officers are urging anyone who sees any suspicious activity or a suspicious vehicle not to approach but to call 911 or the OPP immediately.
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In an email to Global News on Wednesday evening, a spokesperson for the OPP said the force has received “dozens” of calls over the last week but said none have been substantiated.
“There have been no confirmed sightings in Ontario,” Sgt. Shona Camirand wrote.
Manitoba RCMP say they have not sent any resources to Kapuskasing to aid in the search for the vehicle.
Schmegelsky, 18, and McLeod, 19, have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Vancouver man Leonard Dyck.
The friends from Port Alberni, B.C., are also considered 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.
A Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for the two men.
Earlier on Wednesday, the RCMP announced the extensive, nine-day manhunt for McLeod and Schmegelsky, which has largely centred on the remote town of Gillam, Man., would be shrinking.
Gillam is located more than 2,300 kilometres northwest of Kapuskasing.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy said investigators covered 11,000 square kilometres in the air and searched more than 500 homes and buildings with no signs of the men.
With no new leads to pursue, RCMP have decided to “reassess deployment of resources” in the remote community.
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“Even with this extraordinary effort, we have not had any confirmed sightings of the suspects since the burned vehicle was located,” MacLatchy said at a news conference in Winnipeg on Wednesday.
“To be clear, we are not ending this search. A number of resources will remain positioned in the Gillam area and will continue the efforts to locate the murder suspects,” she said.
The Canadian military, who had been aiding in the search, has also pulled out.
Last week, the Canadian Forces deployed two aircraft to Gillam as RCMP ramped up the manhunt.
Those planes, a C-130H Hercules and a CP-140 Aurora, were brought in to fly over inaccessible terrain and provide infrared camera and imaging radar services.
“As a result, our aircrew and aircraft have ceased search operations and will be returning to base,” the Canadian Forces said in a statement to Global News. “As always, we will remain on standby for search and rescue operations.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the distance between Kapuskasing and Sudbury.
—With files from Rachael D’Amore
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