RCMP says teen fugitives very likely took their own lives in Manitoba bush

The RCMP has confirmed that the two teenagers whose bodies were discovered in northern Manitoba last week are the same two who who set off a massive manhunt across Western Canada after they were suspected of killing three people in British Columbia.

The RCMP says they likely committed suicide.

Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod, were found last Wednesday in northern Manitoba and taken to Winnipeg where autopsies were performed.

On Monday police released the results.

They suggest that both Schmegelsky, who would have turned 19 on Aug. 4, and McLeod, 19, were dead for a few days since they were last seen in July but the exact time of their deaths could not be established.

Police said two firearms were found near the bodies.

Forensics experts are now analysing the guns to confirm if the weapons are connected with homicide investigations underway in northern British Columbia.

Schmegelsky and McLeod were suspects in the death of UBC lecturer Leonard Dyck, 64, who was found dead on a highway pullout near Dease Lake, B.C. on July 19, and Australian Lucas Fowler, 23 and American Chynna Deese, 24, whose bodies were found on Alaska Highway, south of Liard Hot Springs, B.C., on July 15.

Police issued a warning that the pair was armed and dangerous and began combing the wilderness of northern Manitoba, territory filled with swamps and populated by wild animals.

The RCMP said officers covered more than 11,000 square kilometres across four provinces looking for the teenagers, who originally left their homes in Port Alberni, B.C. on July 12, telling friends and families they were going to Alberta to look for work.

A motive for the B.C. killings remains unknown.

The British Columbia Prosecution Service does not pursue criminal charges if the person who is accused is proven dead.

With files from CBC, CP, AP, Huffington Post,