Police in Canada are investigating if the killing of two tourists is connected with the search for two missing teenagers.
The bodies of 23-year-old Lucas Fowler from Sydney, Australia and his 24-year-old girlfriend Chynna Deese from North Carolina in the United States were found last Monday along the side of the road in a rural part of British Columbia.
"We can now confirm that Chynna and Lucas were the victims of gun violence," Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) spokeswoman Janella Shoihet told a news conference.
The federal police agency released a sketch showing a man wearing a cap and a beard who was seen speaking with Mr Fowler the day before the tragedy.
"I want to be clear this man is not a suspect. He's a person with whom investigators wish to speak," Ms Shoihet said.
Mr Fowler and Ms Deese's murder came as police investigated the disappearance of 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky in another part of British Columbia.
Authorities discovered their pickup truck engulfed in flames 470km from where the tourists were found. Nearby, they discovered the body of a man in his 50s whose identity has not yet been determined.
Mr McLeod and Mr Schmegelsky are considered missing, Ms Shoihet said, and police are now investigating the possibility of a link between their case and the killings of the tourists.
BC RCMP are asking for the public's assistance in locating 19 yr. old Kam McLeod & 18 yr. old Bryer Schmegelsky who have not been in contact with their family for the last few days & were driving the vehicle found on fire 50 km south of Dease Lake. https://t.co/achxhv1Dj0 pic.twitter.com/bFrqKucerL
— BCRCMP (@BCRCMP) July 22, 2019
#DeaseLake #EDivision(B.C.) - Update - Police seek public assistance in identifying deceased male in Dease Lake investigation https://t.co/KLAavVv5Sk pic.twitter.com/lDON8RBYbx
— BCRCMP (@BCRCMP) July 22, 2019
"Understandably, this is unusual to have two major investigations ongoing of this nature in northern BC at the same time. And so we recognise that there is a possibility that these could be linked," she said.
Mr Fowler's family travelled from Australia to attend the RCMP press conference, with his father Stephen Fowler telling reporters, "We are just distraught."
"I may be an experienced police officer, but today I'm standing here as the father of the murder victim," said Mr Fowler, a senior police inspector in New South Wales.
"Our son, Lucas, was having the time of his life travelling the world. He met a beautiful young lady and they teamed up. They were a great pair and they fell in love," he said.
"It's the worst-ever love story. Because we now have two young people who had everything ahead of them, tragically murdered."
