November 24, 2021 • 58 mins
When the bodies of two tourists are discovered along a highway in Northern British Columbia, an immediate tension would rise with the peak of the season. Within days, another murder would lead the RCMP to believe they had a spree on their hands. By the time law enforcement realized they had mistook perpetrators Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky for possible victims, a relentless manhunt would take on the thick forestry of Canada and it's dog days of summer, pulling together professionals and citizens alike to search for the killers, justice and closure.
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All music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution. Measured Paces by Kevin MacLeod via incompetech.com Cylinder Four, Cylinder Two, There Are Many Different Kinds of Love & The House Glows (With Almost No Help) by Chris Zabriskie via chriszabriskie.com
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*A special thanks to The National Post, Nine News Australia, "The Concept of Leakage in Threat Assessment" by J. Reid Meloy & Mary Ellen O’Toole, "Manhunt, Manitoba" via The Globe and Mail, Global News & CBC for information that allowed this episode to be possible.
Thank you for listening!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
Welcome to the dark divide.
A podcast that takes a seat dangles its legs over the edge and stares into the abyss.
This is the story of the northern british Columbia spree 97 is the longest provincial highway in Canada,
(00:31):
running about 1300 miles from the southern us border all the way to a tiny town in the Yukon.
Its scenery boasts everything.
The west coast is known for rolling landscapes,
wine country,
cottage,
life and endless mountain ranges all along the sea and sky border.
Around 6:30 a.m. On july 15th 2019,
Dave Wilkins and Candy Krueger were driving back and forth along a stretch of highway between the northern Rockies Lodge and leered hot springs.
(00:58):
Twice they passed an old Chevrolet parked along the side of the road.
The blue van didn't seem to have anyone inside and the sun had been up for almost an hour now,
maybe someone was in the back catching some sleep to avoid fatigue at the wheel.
However,
the third time they drove past,
the passenger side door was open and the rear passenger side window had been smashed.
(01:19):
Dave's got clenched tight,
registering the shape of a body in the ditch,
he turned around and slowly drove past again to double check only to see a second body as well.
They were faced down their hands loosely at their sides the unnatural position,
immediately making it clear that something was very wrong.
Dave rolled his window down,
(01:39):
yelling in their direction,
asking if they needed help,
but neither of them moved their bodies remaining still and without warning.
The dry dog days of summer would come to an abrupt halt.
Canadian citizens and tourists alike would be shaken from the unexplainable horror.
The number of homicides in Canada the year before hovered somewhere just under 700,
(02:00):
with most of those occurring in major cities.
And as authorities shared more details with the public,
the fear would become palpable as the country held its breath,
waiting for answers.
The bodies would be identified as 24 year old China dies and her 23 year old boyfriend,
Lucas Fowler China was from Charlotte North Carolina and had been visiting Lucas,
(02:25):
an Australian tourist who was working at a cattle ranch in Canada for the summer.
Their shared passion for travel had been what brought them together in 2017.
They crossed paths at a hostel in Croatia and had been head over heels about each other since China was the youngest in a big family.
Her obituary would remember her as a loving,
free spirit and how she'd had a genuine passion for the well being of all people.
(02:48):
She always had a positive outlook on life and she unfailingly brought joy to all who came in contact with her.
Her mother would tell the media that she was one of the most giving and beautiful souls she'd ever known.
Her daughter would regularly donate blood,
had volunteered at a camp for Children with special needs and had given away a lot of her belongings in the name of a more minimalistic lifestyle in december of 2016 china,
(03:11):
uploaded an instructional video to Youtube called market yourself elevator pitch.
The description reads a short advertisement of myself targeting a job in human resources,
china,
introduces herself and occasionally peeks down at her lap,
reading about her past studies and credentials.
She's well spoken and punctuates the end of the video with a kind,
eager smile at the camera.
(03:33):
Hi there,
my name is China and I am applying to work in your human resources department.
I am a current graduate of Appalachian State University for the Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a minor and general business.
I was born and raised in charlotte north Carolina and I would consider myself to be outstandingly personable and versatile in my everyday life and as an employee.
(03:55):
But it's hard to picture china settled behind an office desk somewhere climbing the corporate ladder.
She liked the open road.
She romanticized a more nomadic lifestyle in her head and tried to blur that into her reality as often as possible.
She wanted a life rich with memories filled with the echo of different languages and the gift of being exposed to worlds beyond your front doorstep.
(04:17):
She had met her match in Lucas and both of their families were expecting an engagement announcement any day china,
like to joke that they'd raised their Children in Australia.
So they had his accent,
Lucas had grown up an outdoorsy boy who really loved things like camping and riding his dirt bike when he'd met china,
he'd been on a two year backpacking trip,
which solidified a deep love of travel in him.
(04:38):
There was something so magical in the challenge of having to navigate your way around a totally different country,
new foods,
new people,
new places.
He couldn't get enough of it and he couldn't get enough of china.
She made him so excited about life.
The two of them had spent christmas together in the US before he left for the ranch that spring.
He repurposed his old van into a camper for a road trip to Alaska.
(05:00):
They were planning at work Lucas was easy going and well liked,
plenty of people remembered him spending hours on the phone with china whenever he wasn't working.
When she arrived in Canada,
they spent a week together at the ranch before heading off for their summer adventure.
Unfortunately,
they were immediately met with bumps in the road for as much work as Lucas had put into his van.
It was still a 1986 model and wasn't exactly running like new.
(05:23):
It was only a matter of time before the flood engine light would blink,
its warning,
forcing them to pull over and let it drain.
But this was where Lucas and China's resilience as travelers got to stretch its legs,
they'd use the time to have some snacks,
take pictures together,
just thoughts down in their journals and walk around during the early evening hours of July 13,
the two would be spotted together on a security camera at a gas station in Fort Nelson,
(05:46):
China is standing on a raised concrete platform.
She leans in and Lucas holds her weight while they hug.
They look so innocent and carefree.
Only 36 hours later would Dave and candy discover them lifeless.
The public immediately began to speculate about a serial killer.
Even if authorities stated there was no reason to think so,
(06:07):
but the deaths were so random and senseless.
The scene left behind was so cold.
Why would anyone kill these two innocent kids for a 1986 van or some measly cash.
Sure,
Lucas and China had been aware of the risks of their traveling lifestyle.
They've been more worried about things like animals in the wild life or running out of gas not being shot to death on the side of a Canadian highway,
(06:30):
Lucas's father,
Stephen Fowler was actually Chief inspector with the new south Wales police force to detectives accompanied him on the trek to Canada to retrieve his son's body and would also liaison with Canadian police.
Even with all his years on the force,
he found himself grappling with the reality of his son's death.
He was now living ellipsis waiting for answers and an answer would come eventually,
(06:56):
but not soon enough and not one that the citizens of Canada were ever expecting only four days later on july 19th,
the RcMP will be notified of a truck on fire.
About 500 kilometers south of where china and Lucas were found about two kilometers from the vehicle was an older man shot to death.
(07:17):
It was assumed that he was alive at the scene because of the mud on his shoes matching that of the ground in the area.
His pockets were full of change and there were numerous items found around the body,
including cigarette butts,
a Molson,
Canadian beer can,
plastic flex ties,
a can of red bull and strangely scattered French fries and their matching red cardboard holder.
(07:37):
For McDonald's authorities quickly connected the murders.
As the bullet casings found near the body were the same as the bullet casings along Highway 97.
As the corner processed the scene,
it was determined that the body had been moved from an unknown location and bled out.
He was shot with an SKs semi automatic rifle had suffered blows to his head and body and he was covered in burns and bruises since there was no identification at the scene.
(08:03):
This time,
police quickly released a composite sketch to the public.
Helen Dick hadn't heard from her husband Leonard in almost a week,
A well respected botanist at the University of british Columbia,
he had recently left for a trip north to observe Grizzly bears.
Not only was it unlike him to go days without calling or texting her,
she noticed he hadn't made any recent credit card purchases for gas or food either.
(08:27):
She had been hoping that maybe he was having phone trouble as the area was peppered with no service zones.
But when a black and white drawing of a man with Leonard,
sharp nose and big bushy beard flashed on the television screen,
her heart dropped.
This didn't make sense.
It couldn't be real.
Police had little to no details to tell her beyond the fact that obviously something very,
(08:48):
very horrible had happened to Helen surprise.
Police were interested in clearing Leonard as much as they were identifying him.
They had three bodies with apparently no connection to each other whatsoever.
64 year old Leonard Dick had a gruff exterior,
but as a person there was no plausible way that he could be personally connected to China and Lucas.
The father of two was a lover of the outdoors and solo excursions to camp or conduct experiments.
(09:13):
Was a regular hobby of his students and teachers alike.
Thought highly of him.
A fellow professor in the body program said that he was as enthusiastic as he was knowledgeable.
He was passionate and curious and he couldn't hurt a fly.
Later blacked out words redacted from warren's would suggest he also didn't like to eat Mcdonald's french fries and the vehicle at the scene is not the silver Toyota rav four that Leonard left in Instead it's a red dodge pickup truck and it's registered to a 19 year old man named Cama.
(09:44):
Cloyd authorities wasted no time getting in contact with cam's family cam had been living in Port Alberni Bc,
a city with a population just under 18,000 located on Vancouver Island.
But according to them,
him and his best friend,
british Miguel ski had left the week before on july 12th brier was about to turn 19 in august as well and the two had quit their jobs at walmart with their sights set on work somewhere north.
(10:13):
It wasn't really clear where they would be going and what they would be doing but the decision hadn't been exactly shocking.
The two had always been into adventure and the outdoors had spoken of their desires to leave someday.
Maybe jobs involving manual labor somewhere less city and more nature would suit them.
Cam sent his girlfriend a text message on the 13th that read seriously sorry,
(10:35):
but I'm not coming back later on a brief phone call,
he told her that he'd left the island and was on the mainland.
He didn't want to be in Port Alberni anymore.
She was hurt that he left without saying goodbye.
But cam didn't really have much to say in terms of comforting her what was done was done And that alone wasn't really anything significant.
They were young.
It wasn't that serious.
(10:55):
He was done with Port Alberni and everything in it.
In a small town.
This is what plenty of people do when they reach adulthood Cam's family had continued to receive texts from him every couple of days,
photos from the drive updates from the road,
things like that,
nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
The last time they'd heard anything was July 17.
Police were also able to get in touch with briars,
(11:16):
grandmother who had been living with in Port Alberni as well as his mother and stepfather who knew little to nothing and remain tight lipped to the media.
They would also contact his father Al who kept in touch with regularly.
Al would not be as tight lipped as the other parents using the media as a way to represent his son and also possibly reach him wherever he was.
(11:36):
He described bryer as reserved but friendly.
He and kim were typical boys liking strategy game and letting their imaginations run wild outdoors for christmas briar had asked for an air soft rifle,
but he mentioned that he didn't know any real guns.
He also said he didn't even know how to drive briar had been anything but enthusiastic about his job at walmart.
(11:57):
So Al wasn't surprised when he said he was done with it and heading somewhere else.
In an interview on july 23rd,
Al shared the last time he'd heard from his son on the 12th a text message explaining that they were leaving.
I won't have internet for a while.
I'll talk to you when I can Al's voice was shaky,
understandably appearing broken and confused.
Holding out for the best while the worst case scenarios ran through his mind,
(12:20):
all I can think is that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They're not violent.
They're good people,
you would call them good people.
I'm thinking that a murder was committed two kilometers away and somebody decided,
let's take care of the witnesses.
I'm saying as a dad,
those boys are still out there,
go find them As police try to work out a timeline and the ways in which Kam and Bryer might have crossed paths with Leonard,
(12:44):
their names and images will be shared with the public to be on the lookout and while they wait for the information to reach more people they speak with as many who know Bryer and cam as possible trying to look into who they are.
Are they working with victims or suspects here so far,
All that was clear was that they had three bodies on their hands too young men missing and no viable connections or motives.
(13:05):
Both Kam and Bryer didn't use social media a lot and it seemed that the people who knew the most about them were one another.
Although within a few days more speculations rose to the surface,
someone who knew briar and cam said they wouldn't be surprised if they had been involved in the murder somehow,
which immediately had police on high alert.
There was also another man present at the scene of Lucas and china's murders who had allegedly been speaking to the couple while they were on the side of the road,
(13:32):
the police released a composite sketch of the bearded man specifying that he wasn't a person of interest,
just that the police would like to speak to him,
but it was Kam and Bryer that everyone was talking about and the end of july was about to curl its fingers around a collective,
forcing it to hold their breath stuck in an uncharacteristic tension.
More answers were about to come,
(13:53):
creating only more questions.
Things were about to get so much worse.
Almost simultaneously,
pieces would come together from the west coast all the way to the province of Manitoba.
Within just a few days of Leonard's murder,
it would take time for people to be on the lookout for Kam and Bryer for the news to travel and in the midst of that the two were seen on the 20th on the 21st and the 22nd of july And by the 23rd the narrative shifts as verified sightings of the two are shared with the public including video surveillance of them walking around a store in Meadow Lake Saskatchewan.
(14:32):
The 15 2nd clip shows cam in a blue shirt,
followed by briar in full camouflage gear and combat boots,
surveying the aisles of a co op store.
Both of them are around six ft four and 100 and £70 cams casual with his left hand in his pocket and his right hand stroking his facial hair while he passes the items briar follows while using both hands to fasten the front buttons of his jacket.
(14:55):
They're alone,
they're calm.
If anything,
appearing almost bored,
not the demeanor you'd expect from two people that were just at the scene of a cold blooded murder.
Now it was crystal clear that Kam and Bryer weren't victims or missing,
but suspects there's also a clear shot of footage as they leave the store cam appears to be saying something most likely a response to the cashier as they go,
(15:19):
a section of the footage will be snapped,
their faces straight on and distinct.
It's shared everywhere warning the public that the men are armed and dangerous.
Before that,
the police were already receiving a high amount of tips but after sharing what the two men look like the phone lines would flood with hundreds of people from Northern Bc all the way to Ontario claiming to have seen the pair,
(15:40):
the age of social media can affect how crime timelines play out as they're still happening,
authorities would follow up on as many leads as they could.
But considering the two were most likely still traveling by vehicle,
plenty of the locations and claims were dismantled with just common sense.
Yes,
they had a lead of time,
but they would still have to make stops along the way and travel on less conspicuous roads on july 24th Global news will follow up with briers father again who by now was aware that his son wasn't missing,
(16:09):
but instead on a murder spree with his best childhood friend.
Alan noted that Breyer had purchased a nice black suit with his second paycheck.
Now realizing that maybe it was a suit for his funeral when he's asked if there's anything he'd like to say to his son if he's watching,
he just tells Breyer that he loves him and to rest in peace sure that the worst will happen and authorities will kill on sight when the boys are found once.
(16:38):
Kam and Bryer are no longer victims.
Questions from the public were now asked through a much darker lens.
Who were these young men,
what was their motive And of course could anyone in their lives have seen this coming 18 year old british Miguel ski had a difficult childhood and a troubled upbringing.
His parents ended their toxic relationship through a bitter divorce process when he was four and it led to a fragmented relationship with both his mother and father.
(17:06):
It's unclear whether he was given any resources like counseling briar,
turned inward,
became quiet and kept his pain to himself.
He wasn't completely alone though briar and kim had been inseparable since early elementary school days when he wasn't hanging out with cam and a few other neighborhood boys playing things like make believe war in the woods.
(17:26):
He was on youtube were playing video games.
His favorites were battle and strategy types briar used these things to cope and avoid his own emotional struggles to his own detriment as he got older and into his teen years,
his apathy continued to grow.
He never felt the urge to do a lot of things his peers were doing,
learning to ride their bikes,
(17:47):
going on dates,
getting their driver's license no matter their age,
gender and culture.
Children of divorced parents experience increased psychological problems.
Breyer for the most part was a good kid but had a lot of behavioral issues mostly at home during the divorce process.
There wasn't a whole lot of nurturing going on and afterwards.
(18:08):
There was no peaceful co parenting,
there was no assurance of his love or safety and he wasn't taught any coping skills to deal with all the strange guilt and fear that Children experience when the dynamics of their home change in such a major way where Bryer could have been made to feel empowered.
Instead he felt vulnerable and distrusting.
(18:28):
Besides his friendship with cam,
he held no emotional investments in the most recent years.
Al had been living in his van and usually only managed to see Bryer every couple of weeks.
He'd get a hotel room in Port Alberni,
they'd grab a few lunches,
maybe a movie.
It was challenging and it felt like they were always starting from scratch every time.
Like there was always this distance between the two of them that never fully closed.
(18:52):
Al was aware of his shortcomings as a father.
It was among many of the demons he struggled to make peace with like his son,
he held his cards close to his chest in his life and instead of finding ways to move through an onward from the bitterness inside of him,
he allowed it to lay dormant much like briar.
Eventually it will come to light that Bryer wasn't just interested in gaming and harmless youtube videos.
(19:16):
His online usage would lead to topics like communism,
far right politics and sexualized japanese anime.
A few photographs will be published almost feeling like cliche hallmarks of a soon to be shooter.
In one he's dressed in military fatigues with his air rifle and another he's wearing camo and a gas mask would have just been a boy playing dress up for years was now a sinister precursor setting off alarms behind the eyes of everyone who saw them.
(19:42):
Even though Al says that briar never owned any real guns,
his fixation with weaponry was obvious and the extent of his knowledge just through games and tutorials online was still impressive briar had been more than ready for the real thing.
Hundreds of people would work diligently to come up with a timeline for those unmarked days between china and Lucas,
Leonard Dick and the surveillance sightings.
(20:04):
Where were they going and who would be next to cross their path on july 12th Kam and Bryer leave home.
They purchased a $400 SKs semi automatic rifle,
a second magazine and a box of 20 rounds of ammunition at a cabela's outdoor sporting goods store in Nanaimo Bc using cam's license.
There had also been another rifle purchased at some point that day before they left Port Alberni,
(20:27):
the same kind and 750 rounds of ammunition.
On july 14th,
the two were caught on surveillance footage from a ford nelson gas station.
They bought some food,
a cowboy hat and some gas Less than 24 hours later on july 15th,
the bodies of china and Lucas are discovered about 3.5 hours away.
(20:48):
While the crime scene is being examined.
Kam and Bryer are long gone traveling as far up as white horse Yukon maybe there was a sense of familiarity for them as cam had been there many times on hunting trips with his father while it takes a couple of days for the police to identify Lucas and china as the two victims briar is spotted buying a 20 liter gas jerry can wearing the cowboy hat.
(21:11):
They're also helped by a traffic control supervisor who finds them parked alongside the Alaska highway allegedly with some car troubles.
The two declined help and eventually continue back to BC july 17th will be the final day that cam sends any photographs or road trip updates to his family That evening along the Alaska highway about 100 miles north of the BC border,
(21:33):
A man named ken,
Albertson pulls over after a 15 hour driving session.
He's exhausted and needs some shuteye before he continues.
Just as he's about to get comfortable,
a pickup truck pulls by and parks just a little ways up from him with what little light there is,
ken,
could see the frame of a thin man getting out of the truck with what looked like a rifle in his hands.
(21:54):
The truck started to pull off,
which he thought was really strange and the man started to walk towards the trees,
almost in a stalking behavior like a hunter.
As he noticed the truck coming back,
his pulse began to rise.
That thing that happens when you don't know why,
but something feels off was happening to ken.
He just knew that if somehow he got stuck between this man with the rifle and whoever was in the truck,
(22:18):
it would be bad news.
I leapt over the back seat in my underwear,
started up the truck,
put it in gear and roared out of there.
He told CBC News,
I honestly believe I was protected by God,
Ken,
drove another four hours.
The adrenaline had woken him up like a jolt of electricity straight to his heart.
Later he'd become a key witness named in court documents and explained the close call he had with Briar and Cam before anybody knew the two were dangerous and wanted for murder by July 18.
(22:46):
Police have shared the homicides with the public for which they have no motive or suspect.
While they're searching for clues,
briar and cam are making their way towards dis lake,
stopping it at a store,
briar used his debit card to grab two pairs of gloves,
a package of donuts and coffee,
crisp chocolate bar during the drive.
They also stopped at a store that gave out free coffee to help drivers stay awake on their long journeys.
(23:08):
The following evening,
RCMP respond to cam's dodge pickup truck on fire along highway 37 they'd taken Leonard silver Toyota rav four.
Well before police were on the scene,
if it was car troubles,
they were having Leonard's murder might have been one simply of circumstance and opportunity or maybe it was just part of their cold blooded plan.
Either way,
(23:28):
this was the day that common Breyer became spree killers.
Serial killers tend to favor staying hidden whether actually hiding or pretending because they desire to kill forever.
They want to be closer to their victims by interacting with them in some capacity or even just physical proximity.
They're secretive and predatory and sometimes captured but often too late.
(23:52):
Or never a serial killer by definition is a person who murders three or more people usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification over a span more than a month with what's called a cooling off period between them.
This could last for weeks months or even in some cases years,
spree killers in a way are more reckless and ruthless with our mania.
(24:15):
When a person murders two or more people in a short amount of time in multiple locations,
they may have a cooling off period,
but it's generally a week or less.
FBI profiler jim Clemente to find a spree killer as the perfect storm of intense factors,
genetics loads,
the gun personality aims it and the experiences of that person pulls the trigger.
(24:36):
Their mission is to kill and they usually don't hold much interest in covering their tracks while they leave a bloody trail behind.
They don't want forever.
They want fame,
They want variety.
They aim for what professionals call checkpoints.
Things like most kills.
They usually have little to no interest in maintaining the normalcy of their lives anymore.
They don't resume to the facade of regular life,
(24:58):
like serial killers often do once the spree has begun,
they usually maintain low exposure instead of hiding in plain sight and are finally stopped either by suicide or police After driving off in Leonard's Rav four,
the pair of seen on camera at a gas station about 420 km south of where they killed him.
(25:20):
They also make a stop at a hardware store to buy a crowbar and some electrical tape,
which they added to the vehicle to make it appear as if it had racing stripes down the hood on the 20th and 21st,
they're captured on multiple surveillance cameras for stops along the way at gas stations.
A local resident in Cold Lake Alberta UNknowingly helped the to get the rav four unstuck before their casual stroll through that hardware store in Meadow Lake Saskatchewan,
(25:43):
Leonard's composite sketches released while the to share a meal in a Mcdonald's in Thompson Manitoba.
The lack of clues in the aftermath at both scenes had put time on their side before they're announced as suspects in all three homicides.
They passed through a check stop at Split Lake in Northern Manitoba and speak with band constables.
Later they'll remember the camping gear and maps they observed in the vehicle as hundreds of officers comb through unfounded tips and false leads,
(26:10):
briar and cam were in Manitoba,
but the rest of the country didn't know that the feeling of danger lurking was present nearly everywhere simultaneously.
While the west coast was unwrapping details to try and piece the madness together,
another vehicle was on fire and what had been a frantic search was about to turn into a full blown manhunt.
(26:39):
On the evening of monday july 22nd,
husband and wife,
billion Tamara Beardy were out picking berries when they noticed smoke and high flames in an area not too far from them.
They decided to go check it out in case somebody needed help or perhaps a forest fire was in the beginning stages.
Manitoba is no stranger to wildfires in the summer,
but instead what they found was a car on fire.
(27:01):
They both called out,
but it was impossible to see if anyone was inside.
They stayed away for fear that it might blow up and called the RCmp.
There were used matchsticks on the ground and also footprints.
Strangely they weren't in the direction that implied leaving,
but rather of the vehicle being pushed into the bushy off road area.
When the fire was out,
(27:22):
the car was found to be empty of any driver or passengers.
It was clear that had been set on purpose and once again briar and cam had left another familiar token behind.
This specific area of towns along the nelson river in Northern Manitoba are tough terrain,
especially for two young and unfamiliar men like kam and Bryer.
If they'd had a plan,
(27:42):
it hadn't been a good one because it's hard to believe that Dylan was where they hope to end up.
Even though it's the ninth largest town in Canada by geographical area,
most of it's uninhabitable.
It's peppered with swampy areas and thick forest,
even with proper hiking gear or rubber boots,
it's exhausting and difficult.
Billy beardy.
The man who discovered the burning vehicle said,
(28:03):
you can't just run into the bush and run out again.
It takes years and years to understand this land.
He was born and raised in Gillam and he'd lived there his whole life as a trapper of the Fox Lake Cree Nation.
Much of his life had been spent learning how to live off of the land and also in harmony with it.
The history of the area was important to him.
He'd grown up to become a handyman of all trades in the community,
(28:25):
a well liked go to guy that people could rely on.
So it was no surprise to the community when the RCMP asked him to assist them with their search,
they knew that a local with knowledge as extensive as his would be vital and he would also notice things that might be abnormal or out of place.
The predictability of life dissipated for gillum in a way it never had before until now.
(28:45):
It had been one of those places where people were still able to leave their doors or vehicles unlocked and feel safe.
But once the news broke that the pair had made it to their tiny town.
That changed.
Police and search dogs were everywhere media and their cameras became a constant and everybody lived in fear that the worst was still yet to come,
that it was only a matter of waiting before some unsuspecting person would be yet again in the wrong place at the wrong time.
(29:11):
But being from a small area themselves briar and cam knew better than to try and blend in with road checks everywhere and broadcast hour by hour.
They were also well aware that they were wanted men into the woods,
they went to face wildlife,
unrelenting,
humid,
heat,
thick waves of mosquitoes and a clock with an unspoken amount of time that was surely running out By Tuesday,
(29:37):
the vehicle was taken away for proper analysis and the public was put on notice that the two suspects were most likely in the area and should be considered armed and dangerous.
That afternoon,
the RCPmp began their search including planes with infrared scans.
The first day they checked the main river ways up to 54 km from the original site with no sign of them.
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The forest was vast and briar and cam were like two needles in a haystack who had gotten a lead of time of almost two days and there was still the slight possibility that they'd somehow managed to escape on Wednesday.
Everyone's suspicions are confirmed as the White Toyota Rav four is found to be registered to Leonard Dick by that evening.
24 hour around the clock.
Resources were at play including dogs,
(30:20):
drones and patrols to block river ways,
railroad tracks and roads that lead in and out of town.
They weren't exactly sure where to begin looking.
So they started with the obvious at the site where the vehicle was found and tracked outwards,
making sure to check every cabin they came across or anything that could be used as shelter.
It was also around this time that the RCmp received a tip that two people fitting their description were also seen in york landing an area about 90 kilometers southwest of Gillam and only accessible by air or a two hour ferry ride.
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Given the amount of time that had passed since the sighting and the fact that they had had a head start,
authorities felt it was a viable lead and decided to throw all resources at it that they could after speaking to witnesses and clearing the area,
there was no sign of briar or cam anywhere as a precaution.
They left some resources on the ground in the area just in case and returned to Gillam to continue their original search.
(31:11):
And by the weekend the RCmp are joined by the Royal,
Canadian Air force Billy and Tamara along with many other members of the Fox Lake Cree nation live on reserve land in a nearby community called Bird bordered by water and forest without much street lighting.
They felt especially vulnerable.
It was hard for them to understand that with all the resources in and around Gillam there was no special patrol for their air.
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It felt as if they were on their own in a way relying on their senses,
the barking of their dogs.
The glimpse of something unfamiliar.
Eventually Gillum would receive support services from an indigenous led neighborhood watch group requested by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
Everyone was on high alert.
There was a simultaneous feeling of fear and security in a place where you might see one or two police officers here and there.
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You would now find heavily armed RCMP officers high in numbers at any given moment.
As the grueling search,
continued items would be found along the way like clues narrowing down where the two men could be hiding.
The first affirming piece of evidence they discover is a backpack belonging to cam inside is some ammunition,
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clothing and his wallet as they continue on a trail of highest probability.
The question on everyone's mind was how are they traveling?
Were they still on land haphazardly making their way through the forest or did they gain access to traveling by water?
Somehow,
Authorities having to split their resources in order to investigate both was taking a precious time.
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12 days into the search,
they get reports of a possible sleeping bag near the mouth of the Hudson Bay and decide to once again fly the span of the river,
paying close attention and taking their time.
It had been a few days since they'd had an aerial view and this time they discovered a damaged aluminum boat on the bank of a river along with the sleeping bag and a few other items just downstream of that.
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There was never anything concretely linking briar and cam to that boat,
but it was likely that they used it and eventually ditched it when they realized that there was no use trying to battle the river's terrain.
Even the RCmp couldn't land and search immediately because of the landscape.
They would have to return the helicopter and come back with a jet boat provided by the Manitoba conservation of which Billy was willing to be the operator.
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He and four other officers would continue the search starting right back where the boat and sleeping bag were found.
Things like that didn't just wash up on shore with currents as rough as this briar and cam were still alive.
Eyes would remain in the sky as an attempt to spot danger lurking would be on the ground and the vulnerability of every minute wasn't lost on anyone.
(33:49):
Authorities pressed on the best they could because of the land.
It was impossible to do a shoulder to shoulder grid search.
They had dogs,
drones,
infrared technology and still they were only going on hunches and estimations.
It would be 17 days into the manhunt when the RCMP would decide to do one more full scale search before it would be time to reassess tactics and possibly pull back some resources.
(34:13):
But luck was finally also on their side.
This day they decided to make it a point to check along the shorelines of smaller ravines.
After a few it was then that Billy noticed a raven pop up over the tree line circling before diving back down again.
Even though Billy was surely the expert of the bunch,
it was in his nature to be respectful of where his authority ended and the officers began.
(34:36):
So he waited to see if they had noticed the same thing.
Finally,
after a moment or two,
he turned to one of the officers and pointed to the sky.
Did you see that the prompt initiated a turnaround and within minutes before even reaching the shore,
they could already make out the figure of a body lying on the beach.
Later it would be confirmed to be briar as they walked further,
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surrounded by the constant stench of death in the wind.
They would also find cam.
One of the rifles was found in his arms,
the other near his body.
For 13 hours straight.
Billy would make trips back and forth,
voting different investigators and forensic specialists to the scene.
It was a strange full circle just weeks before having been the one to discover the burning car and now the bodies.
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He'd been there every step of the way from the very beginning to the very end,
it had been one of the most exhausting and terrifying experiences of his life who would have thought that years of cultivating such a knowledge of the land would put him here smack in the middle of one of Canada's largest manhunts in history.
A later criticism that would fall on the RCMP from the community and especially Billy's family had been the extensive use of his services without much protection here.
(35:51):
He was guiding the way in nothing but a regular jacket and a hat to block the hot sun in a group of men with weapons and bulletproof vests.
He was a sitting duck.
Just hoping that the worst wouldn't happen.
The RCMP would respond by saying that they had been so focused on flotation devices and other safety precautions with the water travel that had been unfortunately a missed detail and billy bears,
(36:14):
no ill will.
He had offered himself up in his time for the land he loved and he said he'd do it again in a heartbeat if he had to with a bulletproof vest of course,
like many residents of the area tomorrow,
Beardy could finally let herself break.
She cried for the exhausted nights of insomnia.
The weeks of taking care of her Children and household by herself while worrying about her husband's safety every moment and even more.
(36:38):
So she cried for the victims and their surviving family members in a documentary called Manhunt Manitoba.
She explained that her sorrow is for every single person.
Tamara,
16 year old son had been in a fatal car accident.
She knows all too well the pain of unexpected tragedy and inexplicable loss,
no matter what the circumstances.
(36:59):
Her empathy for cam and briars,
parents and even Kam and Bryer themselves was something she couldn't snuff out with anger,
their deaths cutting them down to size from fugitives back to young men,
there's still someone's Children and I know how it feels to lose a child and I feel sorry for all the victims that are involved,
but I can't help but feel sorry for these two young men too.
(37:22):
I mean everyone has lives that are troubled or whatever,
but what made them do this On September 29,
2019,
the RBRP held a press conference to release more information about their search and the timeline of the crimes.
They explained that there was nothing to indicate that the murders were going to take place.
(37:46):
Besides the opportunity to steal Leonard's vehicle and money.
A lax were seemingly random and without clear motive.
The acts were committed by Kam and Bryer alone and their extensive research led them to believe that there were no other victims and nobody else was involved in committing the murders.
They confirmed that it would appear cam shot briar before shooting himself in a suicide pact.
(38:07):
Six videos and three photographs taken by briar and cam on a digital camera belonging to Leonard Dick were found near their bodies.
Forensic specialists weren't able to obtain the time and date stamps to know for sure.
When they were filmed,
there would also be no release of the footage as it would be deemed too dangerous for the public and only encourage copycat crimes.
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The behavioral analysis unit was concerned with a particular behavior.
They referred to as identification.
Usually eight separate facets in total are assessed pathway,
which are behaviors involving researching planning and preparing fixation,
which are behaviors involving a pathological preoccupation,
novel aggression,
which our behaviors involving acts of unrelated violence,
(38:51):
energy bursts,
which are behaviors displaying an increased frequency or variety of activities related to the target leakage,
which are behaviors of communication of their intent to a third party directly communicated threats which are behaviors of direct threat to the target beforehand.
Last resort,
which are behaviors of increased desperation or distress through word or action.
(39:15):
And finally,
identification which are any behaviors that indicate a desire to identify with previous Attackers.
A warrior mentality wanting to closely associate with weapons or other military and law enforcement paraphernalia,
essentially this behavior has a very powerful tendency to influence copycats.
Therefore,
only a few details were shared with discretion.
(39:36):
To a certain extent,
we all have our own patterns of identification wearing sports logos with the name of an athlete across the back or a certain name brand of clothing.
We're saying here's who I am and here's the things I like.
And research shows that we all generally tend to categorize those things to be attached to characteristics and personality traits for al,
(39:57):
his son's tendencies to talk about wanting to be in the army and dressing up as a soldier was harmless and if anything ambitious,
admirable.
But the issue is that briars fixation began to permeate who he was.
It became the lens through which he saw the world.
David Copeland,
a convicted mass murderer who terrorized London in the 1999 nail bombings described how this fueled his increasing obsession for years before the attacks.
(40:22):
He had these compulsive images whirling behind his eyes.
This thought kept going around floating around my head.
He said day after,
day after day and then after a while I became that thought,
even though there had been no hint of a warning from cam or briar,
that anything was different.
Once their plan was in motion,
(40:43):
they left all human nature behind briar and cam were cruel,
cold and without remorse.
They spoke in such a matter of fact manner that was chilling among the videos included a confession of all the murders.
They pondered what their next move would be maybe marched to the Hudson bay and hijack a boat.
They could go all the way to europe or africa.
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In another video that was only 32 seconds long Breier explains that they shaved to prepare for their deaths,
which they expected to happen by the end of the week and that they might go back and kill more people in Gillam first in one of the videos,
Brier said he and his friend had found a nice little spot by the river where they were going to shoot themselves.
They both requested to have their bodies cremated.
(41:25):
These videos were not apologies,
but weapons of manipulation meant to give them a sense of notoriety among the headlines along with their confession.
There was already a mountain of evidence that linked the two of them.
Not only was the camera Leonard's,
but there was plenty of CCTV footage and surveillance to put them in the vehicle after his murder and their weapons were a ballistic match for both homicide scenes after a coast to coast manhunt.
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The two had found themselves against a steep embankment and a chaotic river.
They were essentially trapped in their eyes.
The only escape remaining was death and both were up to the task.
Even though technically Bryer was killed by cam,
the videos showed that they were aware that their time was up and both were willing to die by the very same rifle that had taken three innocent lives just weeks before.
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There would be questions about why it had taken so long for the RCMP to declare briar and cam from missing two murderers.
But there had been no way to concretely without a doubt link the pair to the three homicides until further evidence was found in Gillam authorities have a responsibility to gather enough evidence to support an arrest and charge first.
It's imperative to later have a successful prosecution.
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There's a need to avoid red herrings to keep the public safe and honestly,
to defuse civilian involvement.
To an extent,
there's a certain level of unique intensity that comes along with the eyes of social media,
watching everything unfold in real time and in this case,
they had expedited extensive investigation tactics.
Often,
homicide scenes can take several days to thoroughly examine outdoor scenes in remote areas in particular are tricky to assess forensic specialists had worked diligently around the clock to get full answers as soon as possible.
(43:02):
Everyone would still grapple with the idea that there was absolutely no motive,
no reason,
no inclination as to why Lucas china and Leonard were all gone.
Authorities are used to seeing crime after crime without rhyme or reason.
Lack of motive is often something that the public has more difficulty letting go of.
But deep down we all know that there is no answer that would ever be truly satisfactory,
(43:25):
especially for the lives who are now permanently dismantled Lucas.
Father steven referred to his son's relationship as the worst love story ever.
Their innocence and adventure cut short,
robbing them and everyone who knew them of their vibrant and inspiring presence.
Ash Michalski spoke out to the families of the victims via interviews multiple times saying that he knows exactly how they feel because he also lost his child In an interview with Australia's 60 minutes China's sister Kennedy was quoted as saying in response,
(43:58):
you're sorry is for yourself.
You cannot relate to us as we have no doings in the cause of your pain when you've played a part in the cause of ours.
The proper public response would have been a genuine apology,
but we still forgive you and have mercy.
But al would remain vocal understandably,
almost all interviews that he did during and after his son's killing spree.
(44:22):
He would get emotional,
often ranting himself to tears of sadness or anger.
For many viewers.
It was uncomfortable to watch active salt in the wound,
not the usual vulnerability that most are willing to offer up in that position and it almost felt as if someone somewhere should have known better too soon,
maybe not at all,
maybe too traumatizing especially for the families of the victims and those so intimately affected by what brian and cam had done.
(44:48):
But enquiring minds want to know detectives are the ones responsible for solving crimes.
Journalists are there to get the scoop,
get it fast and get it before anybody else does.
The line between valuable and sensational gets blurry here.
Some people felt that his presence was disruptive to the healing process while others understood his grievances and frustrations after watching the videos briar had left behind,
(45:14):
he told the media that it gave him some semblance of closure.
He said briar mentioned cremating him and throwing his ashes in the trash.
Al felt that both he and his son were different examples of systems that had failed them.
His son was beaten down,
not thriving and had lost hope,
but in terms of bench markers and signs to look for a child of divorce,
(45:34):
struggling with depression isn't really a telltale sign of a future spree killer.
Al described briar as a kid who had to put on an image of being tougher than his thin small exterior but nothing screamed for attention,
plenty of kids in his town dressed the same,
played the same video games,
even in the aftermath,
most would reflect upon their relationships with them as normal as any other Kam and Bryer were quiet the more nerdy types that kept to themselves and didn't quite fit in.
(46:01):
Parents of kids who were friends with them,
never saw much out of the ordinary.
Even their own Children were quiet and had struggles with social skills or finding a sense of belonging just because someone's a little different doesn't usually set off alarm bells.
There's no way to know someone inside and out or what they're thinking and feeling regardless of how close you are to them.
(46:22):
Even if you're their parent,
Al was angry with the RCMP for their lack of communication with the families both during and afterward.
One point of contention was that he was made aware of briars death by media coverage while briars,
mother and stepfather were notified officially.
He also claims to have been forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement before viewing the video footage left behind.
(46:45):
Although one can assume this is because he made it a point to be active with the media from the very beginning where the other parents kept quiet behind locked doors.
Al had no issue doing as much press as possible,
even after it was made clear that his son was not missing,
but in fact a fugitive on the run.
He was angry with the lack of press conferences,
especially having to wait more than a month for the overview of the investigation.
(47:07):
Clearly he felt a sense of despair that only a father could wondering if there was something that could have been done differently or maybe he could have helped somehow.
And another point of confusion was how they've managed to get their hands on those rifles pointing out that briar didn't have a firearm license at all.
Did they plan it together?
Or was this all cams idea for all?
(47:29):
I know my son's buddy showed up and said,
let's go and my son said,
all right,
let's go.
He continued to list reasons why in his eyes,
he couldn't see Bryer holding the brunt of the blame.
He was a good kid who never lied to me,
al said.
But photographs leaked from briar social media of him holding his air gun in army style clothing would have the public thinking differently.
(47:50):
It's become common knowledge in the true crime world.
That pairs who commit shootings and mass murders together are usually categorized as one being a psychopath and the other more suggestible or dependent depressive.
But according to Dr Reid Meloy,
a forensic psychologist and expert on targeted violence and threat assessment.
It's so much more layered than that.
Usually there's a mix of mental illness,
(48:13):
Personality disorders.
So understanding the rage and complexity of these individuals disturbances is critical.
Still,
it's rare to have two people committing mass and spree shootings together after the notoriety of the Colorado shootings at Columbine High School in 1999.
It's common to have people wondering which one is the Eric Harris and which one is the Dylan Klebold.
(48:35):
But the RCMP verified that no exact details of the murders were given.
So there's no real way of ever knowing exactly what happened or who pulled the trigger.
For some,
especially parents,
it's almost a compulsive need to know every detail as you race towards some mirage of closure here.
There would be none.
When you watch Al's interviews time and time again.
(48:58):
The pain of someone who is lost in the confusion of their grieving and trauma is palpable.
His vulnerability knows no boundaries and there are moments that feel messy,
uncomfortably raw and unfiltered.
Even with the proof in the september press conference held by the RCMP.
Even with the videos left behind by briar,
he still continued to press on and outward with his anger with little to no reflection and word.
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Not only did he take no part of responsibility for what was broken,
he also took no part in healing.
In May 2020 al would be placed on a 12-month peace bond after pleading guilty to sending harassing and threatening emails to a deputy minister Bobby.
Please kiss in the provincial government in December of 2019 tend to be exact between December 12 and 27.
(49:46):
He also sent two emails to B.
C.
Premier john Horgan requesting a restraining order against bobby as well as a federal inquiry the day before his final email threat.
He had called her ranting and screaming profanities,
telling her he knew where she lived.
Al blamed the government for briars death and he was skeptical that the autopsy report matched the description of briar,
(50:07):
his mental health was suffering since the events of that summer.
He was unable to work and sometimes he could barely make it through the day.
He followed the guidelines of a restraining order for five months until a judge found bobby's claims of fearing him to be legitimate.
Since Al had ceased all communications since the charge as well as seeing a psychologist on a weekly basis,
(50:29):
bond would be sufficient.
He was also to receive written consent from his bail supervisor if he wanted to ever travel to Vancouver Island before he left the courtroom,
the judge reminded him that he was getting off easy.
Mr Schmidt Belsky,
you need to understand sir,
that while you may perceive that you have suffered unspeakable personal tragedy to lash out at members of the government who devote themselves to serving the public every day is completely unacceptable to the very fabric of the way our society functions in september 2019.
(51:01):
Al had told a reporter that briar had wanted to be in the army,
given his own fixations along with cam owning a rifle and having hunting experience.
It's valid to assume that both men were eager to have a gun in their hands while cam was busy learning how to handle his weapon,
Bryer was playing first person shooter games and dressing up to imitate someone able to target fear somewhere along the way,
(51:24):
fixation turned to identification and regardless of who came up with the idea first,
both were willing and eager participants.
They kept each other's secrets to the deadliest degree when or how this happened.
Nobody will ever really know for sure to paint either as totally disenfranchised is a disservice to every other person who has to make their way through the darkness of mental illness and severed family trees.
(51:50):
If either briar or cam needed help,
neither of them were interested enough to make that happen.
They've made their decision,
they didn't want support or empathy,
their entitlement craved revenge.
Whatever separation and pain existed in them would spill over and stay behind in their aftermath.
(52:17):
There were many times when briar and cam were called boys most likely because they look so young,
appear so childlike and naive.
They carried themselves with only a half a shared confidence,
the kind of hesitance that comes from not having lived a whole lot of life yet.
Kam and Bryer were technically still teenagers,
but they were also men and regardless of what the motivator was,
(52:41):
that set their plans in motion.
They were men who chose to be defined by their violence all war has broken heart on his sleeve,
allowing the world to peer into his attempts of reconciliation with a son guilty of murder,
but also a son lost to suicide every feeling and double edged sword as he is both victim and survivor of someone else's choices.
(53:02):
But as a living breathing piece of briar by extension,
he's demanded to bear blame.
There is one point in which Al does hit the mark accurately and that's when he admits with an exhausted despair that nothing can bring them back.
But maybe there's something that can be done so that nobody else's child feels the need to take a road trip directly out of their lives and into a psychopathic chaos because of the lack of details and evidence left behind.
(53:27):
It seems that briar and cam soul confided in one another only.
So we'll never really know the mental state of either of them.
Murder suicide is complex and majority researchers agree that at the core is usually suicidally driven violence.
Statistics show that murder suicide perpetrators tend to be highly depressed and overwhelmingly men,
there's a misconception that eventually people just snap,
(53:51):
but for as unpredictable as mass murder is,
there's almost always precipitating events.
What those were may remain uncertain forever.
However,
one thing is clear,
both Kam and Bryer felt a sense of failure,
hopelessness and a dark desire for revenge.
They didn't harm anyone.
They had a relationship with leaving them behind to bear the burden and instead killing strangers when the opportunity presented itself,
(54:15):
the acts were violent with physical brutality and total disregard for human life.
We're used to seeing a build up leading to an event out of the ordinary things they said,
social media posts,
journals or videos,
some sort of forethought and planning Kammen briers actions couldn't have been more impossible to predict without obvious predictors.
(54:37):
Those on the outside naturally speculate that maybe the chance.
Al said briar so desperately needed could have been provided to him somewhere between his childhood and the murders.
A broken home and hurting family aren't to bear the responsibility for briars actions,
but it's the outright refusal to even attempt it.
That leaves a bitter taste in many mouths.
(54:58):
Instead of examining the entire event on an inward level,
at least in his interviews,
Al leaves that piece of the puzzle missing,
projecting his hurt into a world that doesn't know how to hold space for him.
In february 2017,
Sue Klebold did a ted talk called,
My son was a columbine shooter.
This is my story and described what her nearly two decade long search for answers had given her.
(55:22):
I've learned that no matter how much we want to believe,
we can,
we cannot know or control everything our loved ones think and feel and the stubborn belief that we are somehow different,
that someone we love would never think of hurting themselves or someone else can cause us to miss what's hidden in plain sight.
And if worst case scenarios do come to pass,
(55:43):
we'll have to learn to forgive ourselves for not knowing or for not asking the right questions or for not finding the right treatment.
I know that I will live with these multiple tragedies for the rest of my life.
I know that in the minds of many what I lost can't compare to what other families lost.
I know that my struggle doesn't make theirs any easier.
(56:04):
I know that there are some who think I don't have the right to any pain,
but only a life of permanent penance.
In the end,
what I know comes down to this.
The tragic fact is that even the most vigilant and responsible of us may not be able to help,
but for love's sake,
we must never stop trying to know the unknowable.
Whatever apathy,
rage and purposeless,
that might have been suffocating them beneath the surface.
(56:27):
They had left behind in their wake,
bestowed without answers into the lives of strangers.
The lives of giving loving and productive strangers.
China and Lucas had only begun their wildly inspiring adventure.
They had dreams of Troy travel of a humble life rich with memories and family.
Leonard Dick had been passionate and dedicated to encouraging his students.
(56:48):
They were after all,
the future of science.
His belief that knowledge is power reminds us how important it is to look deeper.
Even when it would feel easier to just look away.
Billy Beardy was honored by the grand chief of Manitoba as well as the RCMP for his efforts in the search and in october 2019,
he became Chief of Fox Lake Cree Nation.
(57:11):
There would be a cleansing ritual of the land,
a gathering for the healing of its people.
To pay their respects to the tragedy of loss and most importantly to reclaim how the story ends.
Understanding how something happened isn't the same as closure because no matter how many times you comb through the details of when and where and how,
(57:32):
you'll still never find a satisfactory why?
Sometimes closure is a thing you have to make.
And in choosing to let go,
you take back your power,
you shift from victim to survivor and in that you're able to facilitate your own healing.
Instead of waiting for something else that may never come with openness,
(57:52):
we have to find tinges of the worst parts of ourselves between the lines of these lives and we have to somehow view them all with our own humanity still intact because it is essentially the true ingredient that sets us apart and it is also what will bring us back together
Welcome to the dark divide.
A podcast that takes a seat dangles its legs over the edge and stares into the abyss.
This is the story of the northern british Columbia spree 97 is the longest provincial highway in Canada,
(00:31):
running about 1300 miles from the southern us border all the way to a tiny town in the Yukon.
Its scenery boasts everything.
The west coast is known for rolling landscapes,
wine country,
cottage,
life and endless mountain ranges all along the sea and sky border.
Around 6:30 a.m. On july 15th 2019,
Dave Wilkins and Candy Krueger were driving back and forth along a stretch of highway between the northern Rockies Lodge and leered hot springs.
(00:58):
Twice they passed an old Chevrolet parked along the side of the road.
The blue van didn't seem to have anyone inside and the sun had been up for almost an hour now,
maybe someone was in the back catching some sleep to avoid fatigue at the wheel.
However,
the third time they drove past,
the passenger side door was open and the rear passenger side window had been smashed.
(01:19):
Dave's got clenched tight,
registering the shape of a body in the ditch,
he turned around and slowly drove past again to double check only to see a second body as well.
They were faced down their hands loosely at their sides the unnatural position,
immediately making it clear that something was very wrong.
Dave rolled his window down,
(01:39):
yelling in their direction,
asking if they needed help,
but neither of them moved their bodies remaining still and without warning.
The dry dog days of summer would come to an abrupt halt.
Canadian citizens and tourists alike would be shaken from the unexplainable horror.
The number of homicides in Canada the year before hovered somewhere just under 700,
(02:00):
with most of those occurring in major cities.
And as authorities shared more details with the public,
the fear would become palpable as the country held its breath,
waiting for answers.
The bodies would be identified as 24 year old China dies and her 23 year old boyfriend,
Lucas Fowler China was from Charlotte North Carolina and had been visiting Lucas,
(02:25):
an Australian tourist who was working at a cattle ranch in Canada for the summer.
Their shared passion for travel had been what brought them together in 2017.
They crossed paths at a hostel in Croatia and had been head over heels about each other since China was the youngest in a big family.
Her obituary would remember her as a loving,
free spirit and how she'd had a genuine passion for the well being of all people.
(02:48):
She always had a positive outlook on life and she unfailingly brought joy to all who came in contact with her.
Her mother would tell the media that she was one of the most giving and beautiful souls she'd ever known.
Her daughter would regularly donate blood,
had volunteered at a camp for Children with special needs and had given away a lot of her belongings in the name of a more minimalistic lifestyle in december of 2016 china,
(03:11):
uploaded an instructional video to Youtube called market yourself elevator pitch.
The description reads a short advertisement of myself targeting a job in human resources,
china,
introduces herself and occasionally peeks down at her lap,
reading about her past studies and credentials.
She's well spoken and punctuates the end of the video with a kind,
eager smile at the camera.
(03:33):
Hi there,
my name is China and I am applying to work in your human resources department.
I am a current graduate of Appalachian State University for the Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a minor and general business.
I was born and raised in charlotte north Carolina and I would consider myself to be outstandingly personable and versatile in my everyday life and as an employee.
(03:55):
But it's hard to picture china settled behind an office desk somewhere climbing the corporate ladder.
She liked the open road.
She romanticized a more nomadic lifestyle in her head and tried to blur that into her reality as often as possible.
She wanted a life rich with memories filled with the echo of different languages and the gift of being exposed to worlds beyond your front doorstep.
(04:17):
She had met her match in Lucas and both of their families were expecting an engagement announcement any day china,
like to joke that they'd raised their Children in Australia.
So they had his accent,
Lucas had grown up an outdoorsy boy who really loved things like camping and riding his dirt bike when he'd met china,
he'd been on a two year backpacking trip,
which solidified a deep love of travel in him.
(04:38):
There was something so magical in the challenge of having to navigate your way around a totally different country,
new foods,
new people,
new places.
He couldn't get enough of it and he couldn't get enough of china.
She made him so excited about life.
The two of them had spent christmas together in the US before he left for the ranch that spring.
He repurposed his old van into a camper for a road trip to Alaska.
(05:00):
They were planning at work Lucas was easy going and well liked,
plenty of people remembered him spending hours on the phone with china whenever he wasn't working.
When she arrived in Canada,
they spent a week together at the ranch before heading off for their summer adventure.
Unfortunately,
they were immediately met with bumps in the road for as much work as Lucas had put into his van.
It was still a 1986 model and wasn't exactly running like new.
(05:23):
It was only a matter of time before the flood engine light would blink,
its warning,
forcing them to pull over and let it drain.
But this was where Lucas and China's resilience as travelers got to stretch its legs,
they'd use the time to have some snacks,
take pictures together,
just thoughts down in their journals and walk around during the early evening hours of July 13,
the two would be spotted together on a security camera at a gas station in Fort Nelson,
(05:46):
China is standing on a raised concrete platform.
She leans in and Lucas holds her weight while they hug.
They look so innocent and carefree.
Only 36 hours later would Dave and candy discover them lifeless.
The public immediately began to speculate about a serial killer.
Even if authorities stated there was no reason to think so,
(06:07):
but the deaths were so random and senseless.
The scene left behind was so cold.
Why would anyone kill these two innocent kids for a 1986 van or some measly cash.
Sure,
Lucas and China had been aware of the risks of their traveling lifestyle.
They've been more worried about things like animals in the wild life or running out of gas not being shot to death on the side of a Canadian highway,
(06:30):
Lucas's father,
Stephen Fowler was actually Chief inspector with the new south Wales police force to detectives accompanied him on the trek to Canada to retrieve his son's body and would also liaison with Canadian police.
Even with all his years on the force,
he found himself grappling with the reality of his son's death.
He was now living ellipsis waiting for answers and an answer would come eventually,
(06:56):
but not soon enough and not one that the citizens of Canada were ever expecting only four days later on july 19th,
the RcMP will be notified of a truck on fire.
About 500 kilometers south of where china and Lucas were found about two kilometers from the vehicle was an older man shot to death.
(07:17):
It was assumed that he was alive at the scene because of the mud on his shoes matching that of the ground in the area.
His pockets were full of change and there were numerous items found around the body,
including cigarette butts,
a Molson,
Canadian beer can,
plastic flex ties,
a can of red bull and strangely scattered French fries and their matching red cardboard holder.
(07:37):
For McDonald's authorities quickly connected the murders.
As the bullet casings found near the body were the same as the bullet casings along Highway 97.
As the corner processed the scene,
it was determined that the body had been moved from an unknown location and bled out.
He was shot with an SKs semi automatic rifle had suffered blows to his head and body and he was covered in burns and bruises since there was no identification at the scene.
(08:03):
This time,
police quickly released a composite sketch to the public.
Helen Dick hadn't heard from her husband Leonard in almost a week,
A well respected botanist at the University of british Columbia,
he had recently left for a trip north to observe Grizzly bears.
Not only was it unlike him to go days without calling or texting her,
she noticed he hadn't made any recent credit card purchases for gas or food either.
(08:27):
She had been hoping that maybe he was having phone trouble as the area was peppered with no service zones.
But when a black and white drawing of a man with Leonard,
sharp nose and big bushy beard flashed on the television screen,
her heart dropped.
This didn't make sense.
It couldn't be real.
Police had little to no details to tell her beyond the fact that obviously something very,
(08:48):
very horrible had happened to Helen surprise.
Police were interested in clearing Leonard as much as they were identifying him.
They had three bodies with apparently no connection to each other whatsoever.
64 year old Leonard Dick had a gruff exterior,
but as a person there was no plausible way that he could be personally connected to China and Lucas.
The father of two was a lover of the outdoors and solo excursions to camp or conduct experiments.
(09:13):
Was a regular hobby of his students and teachers alike.
Thought highly of him.
A fellow professor in the body program said that he was as enthusiastic as he was knowledgeable.
He was passionate and curious and he couldn't hurt a fly.
Later blacked out words redacted from warren's would suggest he also didn't like to eat Mcdonald's french fries and the vehicle at the scene is not the silver Toyota rav four that Leonard left in Instead it's a red dodge pickup truck and it's registered to a 19 year old man named Cama.
(09:44):
Cloyd authorities wasted no time getting in contact with cam's family cam had been living in Port Alberni Bc,
a city with a population just under 18,000 located on Vancouver Island.
But according to them,
him and his best friend,
british Miguel ski had left the week before on july 12th brier was about to turn 19 in august as well and the two had quit their jobs at walmart with their sights set on work somewhere north.
(10:13):
It wasn't really clear where they would be going and what they would be doing but the decision hadn't been exactly shocking.
The two had always been into adventure and the outdoors had spoken of their desires to leave someday.
Maybe jobs involving manual labor somewhere less city and more nature would suit them.
Cam sent his girlfriend a text message on the 13th that read seriously sorry,
(10:35):
but I'm not coming back later on a brief phone call,
he told her that he'd left the island and was on the mainland.
He didn't want to be in Port Alberni anymore.
She was hurt that he left without saying goodbye.
But cam didn't really have much to say in terms of comforting her what was done was done And that alone wasn't really anything significant.
They were young.
It wasn't that serious.
(10:55):
He was done with Port Alberni and everything in it.
In a small town.
This is what plenty of people do when they reach adulthood Cam's family had continued to receive texts from him every couple of days,
photos from the drive updates from the road,
things like that,
nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
The last time they'd heard anything was July 17.
Police were also able to get in touch with briars,
(11:16):
grandmother who had been living with in Port Alberni as well as his mother and stepfather who knew little to nothing and remain tight lipped to the media.
They would also contact his father Al who kept in touch with regularly.
Al would not be as tight lipped as the other parents using the media as a way to represent his son and also possibly reach him wherever he was.
(11:36):
He described bryer as reserved but friendly.
He and kim were typical boys liking strategy game and letting their imaginations run wild outdoors for christmas briar had asked for an air soft rifle,
but he mentioned that he didn't know any real guns.
He also said he didn't even know how to drive briar had been anything but enthusiastic about his job at walmart.
(11:57):
So Al wasn't surprised when he said he was done with it and heading somewhere else.
In an interview on july 23rd,
Al shared the last time he'd heard from his son on the 12th a text message explaining that they were leaving.
I won't have internet for a while.
I'll talk to you when I can Al's voice was shaky,
understandably appearing broken and confused.
Holding out for the best while the worst case scenarios ran through his mind,
(12:20):
all I can think is that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They're not violent.
They're good people,
you would call them good people.
I'm thinking that a murder was committed two kilometers away and somebody decided,
let's take care of the witnesses.
I'm saying as a dad,
those boys are still out there,
go find them As police try to work out a timeline and the ways in which Kam and Bryer might have crossed paths with Leonard,
(12:44):
their names and images will be shared with the public to be on the lookout and while they wait for the information to reach more people they speak with as many who know Bryer and cam as possible trying to look into who they are.
Are they working with victims or suspects here so far,
All that was clear was that they had three bodies on their hands too young men missing and no viable connections or motives.
(13:05):
Both Kam and Bryer didn't use social media a lot and it seemed that the people who knew the most about them were one another.
Although within a few days more speculations rose to the surface,
someone who knew briar and cam said they wouldn't be surprised if they had been involved in the murder somehow,
which immediately had police on high alert.
There was also another man present at the scene of Lucas and china's murders who had allegedly been speaking to the couple while they were on the side of the road,
(13:32):
the police released a composite sketch of the bearded man specifying that he wasn't a person of interest,
just that the police would like to speak to him,
but it was Kam and Bryer that everyone was talking about and the end of july was about to curl its fingers around a collective,
forcing it to hold their breath stuck in an uncharacteristic tension.
More answers were about to come,
(13:53):
creating only more questions.
Things were about to get so much worse.
Almost simultaneously,
pieces would come together from the west coast all the way to the province of Manitoba.
Within just a few days of Leonard's murder,
it would take time for people to be on the lookout for Kam and Bryer for the news to travel and in the midst of that the two were seen on the 20th on the 21st and the 22nd of july And by the 23rd the narrative shifts as verified sightings of the two are shared with the public including video surveillance of them walking around a store in Meadow Lake Saskatchewan.
(14:32):
The 15 2nd clip shows cam in a blue shirt,
followed by briar in full camouflage gear and combat boots,
surveying the aisles of a co op store.
Both of them are around six ft four and 100 and £70 cams casual with his left hand in his pocket and his right hand stroking his facial hair while he passes the items briar follows while using both hands to fasten the front buttons of his jacket.
(14:55):
They're alone,
they're calm.
If anything,
appearing almost bored,
not the demeanor you'd expect from two people that were just at the scene of a cold blooded murder.
Now it was crystal clear that Kam and Bryer weren't victims or missing,
but suspects there's also a clear shot of footage as they leave the store cam appears to be saying something most likely a response to the cashier as they go,
(15:19):
a section of the footage will be snapped,
their faces straight on and distinct.
It's shared everywhere warning the public that the men are armed and dangerous.
Before that,
the police were already receiving a high amount of tips but after sharing what the two men look like the phone lines would flood with hundreds of people from Northern Bc all the way to Ontario claiming to have seen the pair,
(15:40):
the age of social media can affect how crime timelines play out as they're still happening,
authorities would follow up on as many leads as they could.
But considering the two were most likely still traveling by vehicle,
plenty of the locations and claims were dismantled with just common sense.
Yes,
they had a lead of time,
but they would still have to make stops along the way and travel on less conspicuous roads on july 24th Global news will follow up with briers father again who by now was aware that his son wasn't missing,
(16:09):
but instead on a murder spree with his best childhood friend.
Alan noted that Breyer had purchased a nice black suit with his second paycheck.
Now realizing that maybe it was a suit for his funeral when he's asked if there's anything he'd like to say to his son if he's watching,
he just tells Breyer that he loves him and to rest in peace sure that the worst will happen and authorities will kill on sight when the boys are found once.
(16:38):
Kam and Bryer are no longer victims.
Questions from the public were now asked through a much darker lens.
Who were these young men,
what was their motive And of course could anyone in their lives have seen this coming 18 year old british Miguel ski had a difficult childhood and a troubled upbringing.
His parents ended their toxic relationship through a bitter divorce process when he was four and it led to a fragmented relationship with both his mother and father.
(17:06):
It's unclear whether he was given any resources like counseling briar,
turned inward,
became quiet and kept his pain to himself.
He wasn't completely alone though briar and kim had been inseparable since early elementary school days when he wasn't hanging out with cam and a few other neighborhood boys playing things like make believe war in the woods.
(17:26):
He was on youtube were playing video games.
His favorites were battle and strategy types briar used these things to cope and avoid his own emotional struggles to his own detriment as he got older and into his teen years,
his apathy continued to grow.
He never felt the urge to do a lot of things his peers were doing,
learning to ride their bikes,
(17:47):
going on dates,
getting their driver's license no matter their age,
gender and culture.
Children of divorced parents experience increased psychological problems.
Breyer for the most part was a good kid but had a lot of behavioral issues mostly at home during the divorce process.
There wasn't a whole lot of nurturing going on and afterwards.
(18:08):
There was no peaceful co parenting,
there was no assurance of his love or safety and he wasn't taught any coping skills to deal with all the strange guilt and fear that Children experience when the dynamics of their home change in such a major way where Bryer could have been made to feel empowered.
Instead he felt vulnerable and distrusting.
(18:28):
Besides his friendship with cam,
he held no emotional investments in the most recent years.
Al had been living in his van and usually only managed to see Bryer every couple of weeks.
He'd get a hotel room in Port Alberni,
they'd grab a few lunches,
maybe a movie.
It was challenging and it felt like they were always starting from scratch every time.
Like there was always this distance between the two of them that never fully closed.
(18:52):
Al was aware of his shortcomings as a father.
It was among many of the demons he struggled to make peace with like his son,
he held his cards close to his chest in his life and instead of finding ways to move through an onward from the bitterness inside of him,
he allowed it to lay dormant much like briar.
Eventually it will come to light that Bryer wasn't just interested in gaming and harmless youtube videos.
(19:16):
His online usage would lead to topics like communism,
far right politics and sexualized japanese anime.
A few photographs will be published almost feeling like cliche hallmarks of a soon to be shooter.
In one he's dressed in military fatigues with his air rifle and another he's wearing camo and a gas mask would have just been a boy playing dress up for years was now a sinister precursor setting off alarms behind the eyes of everyone who saw them.
(19:42):
Even though Al says that briar never owned any real guns,
his fixation with weaponry was obvious and the extent of his knowledge just through games and tutorials online was still impressive briar had been more than ready for the real thing.
Hundreds of people would work diligently to come up with a timeline for those unmarked days between china and Lucas,
Leonard Dick and the surveillance sightings.
(20:04):
Where were they going and who would be next to cross their path on july 12th Kam and Bryer leave home.
They purchased a $400 SKs semi automatic rifle,
a second magazine and a box of 20 rounds of ammunition at a cabela's outdoor sporting goods store in Nanaimo Bc using cam's license.
There had also been another rifle purchased at some point that day before they left Port Alberni,
(20:27):
the same kind and 750 rounds of ammunition.
On july 14th,
the two were caught on surveillance footage from a ford nelson gas station.
They bought some food,
a cowboy hat and some gas Less than 24 hours later on july 15th,
the bodies of china and Lucas are discovered about 3.5 hours away.
(20:48):
While the crime scene is being examined.
Kam and Bryer are long gone traveling as far up as white horse Yukon maybe there was a sense of familiarity for them as cam had been there many times on hunting trips with his father while it takes a couple of days for the police to identify Lucas and china as the two victims briar is spotted buying a 20 liter gas jerry can wearing the cowboy hat.
(21:11):
They're also helped by a traffic control supervisor who finds them parked alongside the Alaska highway allegedly with some car troubles.
The two declined help and eventually continue back to BC july 17th will be the final day that cam sends any photographs or road trip updates to his family That evening along the Alaska highway about 100 miles north of the BC border,
(21:33):
A man named ken,
Albertson pulls over after a 15 hour driving session.
He's exhausted and needs some shuteye before he continues.
Just as he's about to get comfortable,
a pickup truck pulls by and parks just a little ways up from him with what little light there is,
ken,
could see the frame of a thin man getting out of the truck with what looked like a rifle in his hands.
(21:54):
The truck started to pull off,
which he thought was really strange and the man started to walk towards the trees,
almost in a stalking behavior like a hunter.
As he noticed the truck coming back,
his pulse began to rise.
That thing that happens when you don't know why,
but something feels off was happening to ken.
He just knew that if somehow he got stuck between this man with the rifle and whoever was in the truck,
(22:18):
it would be bad news.
I leapt over the back seat in my underwear,
started up the truck,
put it in gear and roared out of there.
He told CBC News,
I honestly believe I was protected by God,
Ken,
drove another four hours.
The adrenaline had woken him up like a jolt of electricity straight to his heart.
Later he'd become a key witness named in court documents and explained the close call he had with Briar and Cam before anybody knew the two were dangerous and wanted for murder by July 18.
(22:46):
Police have shared the homicides with the public for which they have no motive or suspect.
While they're searching for clues,
briar and cam are making their way towards dis lake,
stopping it at a store,
briar used his debit card to grab two pairs of gloves,
a package of donuts and coffee,
crisp chocolate bar during the drive.
They also stopped at a store that gave out free coffee to help drivers stay awake on their long journeys.
(23:08):
The following evening,
RCMP respond to cam's dodge pickup truck on fire along highway 37 they'd taken Leonard silver Toyota rav four.
Well before police were on the scene,
if it was car troubles,
they were having Leonard's murder might have been one simply of circumstance and opportunity or maybe it was just part of their cold blooded plan.
Either way,
(23:28):
this was the day that common Breyer became spree killers.
Serial killers tend to favor staying hidden whether actually hiding or pretending because they desire to kill forever.
They want to be closer to their victims by interacting with them in some capacity or even just physical proximity.
They're secretive and predatory and sometimes captured but often too late.
(23:52):
Or never a serial killer by definition is a person who murders three or more people usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification over a span more than a month with what's called a cooling off period between them.
This could last for weeks months or even in some cases years,
spree killers in a way are more reckless and ruthless with our mania.
(24:15):
When a person murders two or more people in a short amount of time in multiple locations,
they may have a cooling off period,
but it's generally a week or less.
FBI profiler jim Clemente to find a spree killer as the perfect storm of intense factors,
genetics loads,
the gun personality aims it and the experiences of that person pulls the trigger.
(24:36):
Their mission is to kill and they usually don't hold much interest in covering their tracks while they leave a bloody trail behind.
They don't want forever.
They want fame,
They want variety.
They aim for what professionals call checkpoints.
Things like most kills.
They usually have little to no interest in maintaining the normalcy of their lives anymore.
They don't resume to the facade of regular life,
(24:58):
like serial killers often do once the spree has begun,
they usually maintain low exposure instead of hiding in plain sight and are finally stopped either by suicide or police After driving off in Leonard's Rav four,
the pair of seen on camera at a gas station about 420 km south of where they killed him.
(25:20):
They also make a stop at a hardware store to buy a crowbar and some electrical tape,
which they added to the vehicle to make it appear as if it had racing stripes down the hood on the 20th and 21st,
they're captured on multiple surveillance cameras for stops along the way at gas stations.
A local resident in Cold Lake Alberta UNknowingly helped the to get the rav four unstuck before their casual stroll through that hardware store in Meadow Lake Saskatchewan,
(25:43):
Leonard's composite sketches released while the to share a meal in a Mcdonald's in Thompson Manitoba.
The lack of clues in the aftermath at both scenes had put time on their side before they're announced as suspects in all three homicides.
They passed through a check stop at Split Lake in Northern Manitoba and speak with band constables.
Later they'll remember the camping gear and maps they observed in the vehicle as hundreds of officers comb through unfounded tips and false leads,
(26:10):
briar and cam were in Manitoba,
but the rest of the country didn't know that the feeling of danger lurking was present nearly everywhere simultaneously.
While the west coast was unwrapping details to try and piece the madness together,
another vehicle was on fire and what had been a frantic search was about to turn into a full blown manhunt.
(26:39):
On the evening of monday july 22nd,
husband and wife,
billion Tamara Beardy were out picking berries when they noticed smoke and high flames in an area not too far from them.
They decided to go check it out in case somebody needed help or perhaps a forest fire was in the beginning stages.
Manitoba is no stranger to wildfires in the summer,
but instead what they found was a car on fire.
(27:01):
They both called out,
but it was impossible to see if anyone was inside.
They stayed away for fear that it might blow up and called the RCmp.
There were used matchsticks on the ground and also footprints.
Strangely they weren't in the direction that implied leaving,
but rather of the vehicle being pushed into the bushy off road area.
When the fire was out,
(27:22):
the car was found to be empty of any driver or passengers.
It was clear that had been set on purpose and once again briar and cam had left another familiar token behind.
This specific area of towns along the nelson river in Northern Manitoba are tough terrain,
especially for two young and unfamiliar men like kam and Bryer.
If they'd had a plan,
(27:42):
it hadn't been a good one because it's hard to believe that Dylan was where they hope to end up.
Even though it's the ninth largest town in Canada by geographical area,
most of it's uninhabitable.
It's peppered with swampy areas and thick forest,
even with proper hiking gear or rubber boots,
it's exhausting and difficult.
Billy beardy.
The man who discovered the burning vehicle said,
(28:03):
you can't just run into the bush and run out again.
It takes years and years to understand this land.
He was born and raised in Gillam and he'd lived there his whole life as a trapper of the Fox Lake Cree Nation.
Much of his life had been spent learning how to live off of the land and also in harmony with it.
The history of the area was important to him.
He'd grown up to become a handyman of all trades in the community,
(28:25):
a well liked go to guy that people could rely on.
So it was no surprise to the community when the RCMP asked him to assist them with their search,
they knew that a local with knowledge as extensive as his would be vital and he would also notice things that might be abnormal or out of place.
The predictability of life dissipated for gillum in a way it never had before until now.
(28:45):
It had been one of those places where people were still able to leave their doors or vehicles unlocked and feel safe.
But once the news broke that the pair had made it to their tiny town.
That changed.
Police and search dogs were everywhere media and their cameras became a constant and everybody lived in fear that the worst was still yet to come,
that it was only a matter of waiting before some unsuspecting person would be yet again in the wrong place at the wrong time.
(29:11):
But being from a small area themselves briar and cam knew better than to try and blend in with road checks everywhere and broadcast hour by hour.
They were also well aware that they were wanted men into the woods,
they went to face wildlife,
unrelenting,
humid,
heat,
thick waves of mosquitoes and a clock with an unspoken amount of time that was surely running out By Tuesday,
(29:37):
the vehicle was taken away for proper analysis and the public was put on notice that the two suspects were most likely in the area and should be considered armed and dangerous.
That afternoon,
the RCPmp began their search including planes with infrared scans.
The first day they checked the main river ways up to 54 km from the original site with no sign of them.
(29:58):
The forest was vast and briar and cam were like two needles in a haystack who had gotten a lead of time of almost two days and there was still the slight possibility that they'd somehow managed to escape on Wednesday.
Everyone's suspicions are confirmed as the White Toyota Rav four is found to be registered to Leonard Dick by that evening.
24 hour around the clock.
Resources were at play including dogs,
(30:20):
drones and patrols to block river ways,
railroad tracks and roads that lead in and out of town.
They weren't exactly sure where to begin looking.
So they started with the obvious at the site where the vehicle was found and tracked outwards,
making sure to check every cabin they came across or anything that could be used as shelter.
It was also around this time that the RCmp received a tip that two people fitting their description were also seen in york landing an area about 90 kilometers southwest of Gillam and only accessible by air or a two hour ferry ride.
(30:50):
Given the amount of time that had passed since the sighting and the fact that they had had a head start,
authorities felt it was a viable lead and decided to throw all resources at it that they could after speaking to witnesses and clearing the area,
there was no sign of briar or cam anywhere as a precaution.
They left some resources on the ground in the area just in case and returned to Gillam to continue their original search.
(31:11):
And by the weekend the RCmp are joined by the Royal,
Canadian Air force Billy and Tamara along with many other members of the Fox Lake Cree nation live on reserve land in a nearby community called Bird bordered by water and forest without much street lighting.
They felt especially vulnerable.
It was hard for them to understand that with all the resources in and around Gillam there was no special patrol for their air.
(31:35):
It felt as if they were on their own in a way relying on their senses,
the barking of their dogs.
The glimpse of something unfamiliar.
Eventually Gillum would receive support services from an indigenous led neighborhood watch group requested by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
Everyone was on high alert.
There was a simultaneous feeling of fear and security in a place where you might see one or two police officers here and there.
(32:00):
You would now find heavily armed RCMP officers high in numbers at any given moment.
As the grueling search,
continued items would be found along the way like clues narrowing down where the two men could be hiding.
The first affirming piece of evidence they discover is a backpack belonging to cam inside is some ammunition,
(32:20):
clothing and his wallet as they continue on a trail of highest probability.
The question on everyone's mind was how are they traveling?
Were they still on land haphazardly making their way through the forest or did they gain access to traveling by water?
Somehow,
Authorities having to split their resources in order to investigate both was taking a precious time.
(32:40):
12 days into the search,
they get reports of a possible sleeping bag near the mouth of the Hudson Bay and decide to once again fly the span of the river,
paying close attention and taking their time.
It had been a few days since they'd had an aerial view and this time they discovered a damaged aluminum boat on the bank of a river along with the sleeping bag and a few other items just downstream of that.
(33:01):
There was never anything concretely linking briar and cam to that boat,
but it was likely that they used it and eventually ditched it when they realized that there was no use trying to battle the river's terrain.
Even the RCmp couldn't land and search immediately because of the landscape.
They would have to return the helicopter and come back with a jet boat provided by the Manitoba conservation of which Billy was willing to be the operator.
(33:23):
He and four other officers would continue the search starting right back where the boat and sleeping bag were found.
Things like that didn't just wash up on shore with currents as rough as this briar and cam were still alive.
Eyes would remain in the sky as an attempt to spot danger lurking would be on the ground and the vulnerability of every minute wasn't lost on anyone.
(33:49):
Authorities pressed on the best they could because of the land.
It was impossible to do a shoulder to shoulder grid search.
They had dogs,
drones,
infrared technology and still they were only going on hunches and estimations.
It would be 17 days into the manhunt when the RCMP would decide to do one more full scale search before it would be time to reassess tactics and possibly pull back some resources.
(34:13):
But luck was finally also on their side.
This day they decided to make it a point to check along the shorelines of smaller ravines.
After a few it was then that Billy noticed a raven pop up over the tree line circling before diving back down again.
Even though Billy was surely the expert of the bunch,
it was in his nature to be respectful of where his authority ended and the officers began.
(34:36):
So he waited to see if they had noticed the same thing.
Finally,
after a moment or two,
he turned to one of the officers and pointed to the sky.
Did you see that the prompt initiated a turnaround and within minutes before even reaching the shore,
they could already make out the figure of a body lying on the beach.
Later it would be confirmed to be briar as they walked further,
(34:59):
surrounded by the constant stench of death in the wind.
They would also find cam.
One of the rifles was found in his arms,
the other near his body.
For 13 hours straight.
Billy would make trips back and forth,
voting different investigators and forensic specialists to the scene.
It was a strange full circle just weeks before having been the one to discover the burning car and now the bodies.
(35:23):
He'd been there every step of the way from the very beginning to the very end,
it had been one of the most exhausting and terrifying experiences of his life who would have thought that years of cultivating such a knowledge of the land would put him here smack in the middle of one of Canada's largest manhunts in history.
A later criticism that would fall on the RCMP from the community and especially Billy's family had been the extensive use of his services without much protection here.
(35:51):
He was guiding the way in nothing but a regular jacket and a hat to block the hot sun in a group of men with weapons and bulletproof vests.
He was a sitting duck.
Just hoping that the worst wouldn't happen.
The RCMP would respond by saying that they had been so focused on flotation devices and other safety precautions with the water travel that had been unfortunately a missed detail and billy bears,
(36:14):
no ill will.
He had offered himself up in his time for the land he loved and he said he'd do it again in a heartbeat if he had to with a bulletproof vest of course,
like many residents of the area tomorrow,
Beardy could finally let herself break.
She cried for the exhausted nights of insomnia.
The weeks of taking care of her Children and household by herself while worrying about her husband's safety every moment and even more.
(36:38):
So she cried for the victims and their surviving family members in a documentary called Manhunt Manitoba.
She explained that her sorrow is for every single person.
Tamara,
16 year old son had been in a fatal car accident.
She knows all too well the pain of unexpected tragedy and inexplicable loss,
no matter what the circumstances.
(36:59):
Her empathy for cam and briars,
parents and even Kam and Bryer themselves was something she couldn't snuff out with anger,
their deaths cutting them down to size from fugitives back to young men,
there's still someone's Children and I know how it feels to lose a child and I feel sorry for all the victims that are involved,
but I can't help but feel sorry for these two young men too.
(37:22):
I mean everyone has lives that are troubled or whatever,
but what made them do this On September 29,
2019,
the RBRP held a press conference to release more information about their search and the timeline of the crimes.
They explained that there was nothing to indicate that the murders were going to take place.
(37:46):
Besides the opportunity to steal Leonard's vehicle and money.
A lax were seemingly random and without clear motive.
The acts were committed by Kam and Bryer alone and their extensive research led them to believe that there were no other victims and nobody else was involved in committing the murders.
They confirmed that it would appear cam shot briar before shooting himself in a suicide pact.
(38:07):
Six videos and three photographs taken by briar and cam on a digital camera belonging to Leonard Dick were found near their bodies.
Forensic specialists weren't able to obtain the time and date stamps to know for sure.
When they were filmed,
there would also be no release of the footage as it would be deemed too dangerous for the public and only encourage copycat crimes.
(38:28):
The behavioral analysis unit was concerned with a particular behavior.
They referred to as identification.
Usually eight separate facets in total are assessed pathway,
which are behaviors involving researching planning and preparing fixation,
which are behaviors involving a pathological preoccupation,
novel aggression,
which our behaviors involving acts of unrelated violence,
(38:51):
energy bursts,
which are behaviors displaying an increased frequency or variety of activities related to the target leakage,
which are behaviors of communication of their intent to a third party directly communicated threats which are behaviors of direct threat to the target beforehand.
Last resort,
which are behaviors of increased desperation or distress through word or action.
(39:15):
And finally,
identification which are any behaviors that indicate a desire to identify with previous Attackers.
A warrior mentality wanting to closely associate with weapons or other military and law enforcement paraphernalia,
essentially this behavior has a very powerful tendency to influence copycats.
Therefore,
only a few details were shared with discretion.
(39:36):
To a certain extent,
we all have our own patterns of identification wearing sports logos with the name of an athlete across the back or a certain name brand of clothing.
We're saying here's who I am and here's the things I like.
And research shows that we all generally tend to categorize those things to be attached to characteristics and personality traits for al,
(39:57):
his son's tendencies to talk about wanting to be in the army and dressing up as a soldier was harmless and if anything ambitious,
admirable.
But the issue is that briars fixation began to permeate who he was.
It became the lens through which he saw the world.
David Copeland,
a convicted mass murderer who terrorized London in the 1999 nail bombings described how this fueled his increasing obsession for years before the attacks.
(40:22):
He had these compulsive images whirling behind his eyes.
This thought kept going around floating around my head.
He said day after,
day after day and then after a while I became that thought,
even though there had been no hint of a warning from cam or briar,
that anything was different.
Once their plan was in motion,
(40:43):
they left all human nature behind briar and cam were cruel,
cold and without remorse.
They spoke in such a matter of fact manner that was chilling among the videos included a confession of all the murders.
They pondered what their next move would be maybe marched to the Hudson bay and hijack a boat.
They could go all the way to europe or africa.
(41:04):
In another video that was only 32 seconds long Breier explains that they shaved to prepare for their deaths,
which they expected to happen by the end of the week and that they might go back and kill more people in Gillam first in one of the videos,
Brier said he and his friend had found a nice little spot by the river where they were going to shoot themselves.
They both requested to have their bodies cremated.
(41:25):
These videos were not apologies,
but weapons of manipulation meant to give them a sense of notoriety among the headlines along with their confession.
There was already a mountain of evidence that linked the two of them.
Not only was the camera Leonard's,
but there was plenty of CCTV footage and surveillance to put them in the vehicle after his murder and their weapons were a ballistic match for both homicide scenes after a coast to coast manhunt.
(41:48):
The two had found themselves against a steep embankment and a chaotic river.
They were essentially trapped in their eyes.
The only escape remaining was death and both were up to the task.
Even though technically Bryer was killed by cam,
the videos showed that they were aware that their time was up and both were willing to die by the very same rifle that had taken three innocent lives just weeks before.
(42:10):
There would be questions about why it had taken so long for the RCMP to declare briar and cam from missing two murderers.
But there had been no way to concretely without a doubt link the pair to the three homicides until further evidence was found in Gillam authorities have a responsibility to gather enough evidence to support an arrest and charge first.
It's imperative to later have a successful prosecution.
(42:32):
There's a need to avoid red herrings to keep the public safe and honestly,
to defuse civilian involvement.
To an extent,
there's a certain level of unique intensity that comes along with the eyes of social media,
watching everything unfold in real time and in this case,
they had expedited extensive investigation tactics.
Often,
homicide scenes can take several days to thoroughly examine outdoor scenes in remote areas in particular are tricky to assess forensic specialists had worked diligently around the clock to get full answers as soon as possible.
(43:02):
Everyone would still grapple with the idea that there was absolutely no motive,
no reason,
no inclination as to why Lucas china and Leonard were all gone.
Authorities are used to seeing crime after crime without rhyme or reason.
Lack of motive is often something that the public has more difficulty letting go of.
But deep down we all know that there is no answer that would ever be truly satisfactory,
(43:25):
especially for the lives who are now permanently dismantled Lucas.
Father steven referred to his son's relationship as the worst love story ever.
Their innocence and adventure cut short,
robbing them and everyone who knew them of their vibrant and inspiring presence.
Ash Michalski spoke out to the families of the victims via interviews multiple times saying that he knows exactly how they feel because he also lost his child In an interview with Australia's 60 minutes China's sister Kennedy was quoted as saying in response,
(43:58):
you're sorry is for yourself.
You cannot relate to us as we have no doings in the cause of your pain when you've played a part in the cause of ours.
The proper public response would have been a genuine apology,
but we still forgive you and have mercy.
But al would remain vocal understandably,
almost all interviews that he did during and after his son's killing spree.
(44:22):
He would get emotional,
often ranting himself to tears of sadness or anger.
For many viewers.
It was uncomfortable to watch active salt in the wound,
not the usual vulnerability that most are willing to offer up in that position and it almost felt as if someone somewhere should have known better too soon,
maybe not at all,
maybe too traumatizing especially for the families of the victims and those so intimately affected by what brian and cam had done.
(44:48):
But enquiring minds want to know detectives are the ones responsible for solving crimes.
Journalists are there to get the scoop,
get it fast and get it before anybody else does.
The line between valuable and sensational gets blurry here.
Some people felt that his presence was disruptive to the healing process while others understood his grievances and frustrations after watching the videos briar had left behind,
(45:14):
he told the media that it gave him some semblance of closure.
He said briar mentioned cremating him and throwing his ashes in the trash.
Al felt that both he and his son were different examples of systems that had failed them.
His son was beaten down,
not thriving and had lost hope,
but in terms of bench markers and signs to look for a child of divorce,
(45:34):
struggling with depression isn't really a telltale sign of a future spree killer.
Al described briar as a kid who had to put on an image of being tougher than his thin small exterior but nothing screamed for attention,
plenty of kids in his town dressed the same,
played the same video games,
even in the aftermath,
most would reflect upon their relationships with them as normal as any other Kam and Bryer were quiet the more nerdy types that kept to themselves and didn't quite fit in.
(46:01):
Parents of kids who were friends with them,
never saw much out of the ordinary.
Even their own Children were quiet and had struggles with social skills or finding a sense of belonging just because someone's a little different doesn't usually set off alarm bells.
There's no way to know someone inside and out or what they're thinking and feeling regardless of how close you are to them.
(46:22):
Even if you're their parent,
Al was angry with the RCMP for their lack of communication with the families both during and afterward.
One point of contention was that he was made aware of briars death by media coverage while briars,
mother and stepfather were notified officially.
He also claims to have been forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement before viewing the video footage left behind.
(46:45):
Although one can assume this is because he made it a point to be active with the media from the very beginning where the other parents kept quiet behind locked doors.
Al had no issue doing as much press as possible,
even after it was made clear that his son was not missing,
but in fact a fugitive on the run.
He was angry with the lack of press conferences,
especially having to wait more than a month for the overview of the investigation.
(47:07):
Clearly he felt a sense of despair that only a father could wondering if there was something that could have been done differently or maybe he could have helped somehow.
And another point of confusion was how they've managed to get their hands on those rifles pointing out that briar didn't have a firearm license at all.
Did they plan it together?
Or was this all cams idea for all?
(47:29):
I know my son's buddy showed up and said,
let's go and my son said,
all right,
let's go.
He continued to list reasons why in his eyes,
he couldn't see Bryer holding the brunt of the blame.
He was a good kid who never lied to me,
al said.
But photographs leaked from briar social media of him holding his air gun in army style clothing would have the public thinking differently.
(47:50):
It's become common knowledge in the true crime world.
That pairs who commit shootings and mass murders together are usually categorized as one being a psychopath and the other more suggestible or dependent depressive.
But according to Dr Reid Meloy,
a forensic psychologist and expert on targeted violence and threat assessment.
It's so much more layered than that.
Usually there's a mix of mental illness,
(48:13):
Personality disorders.
So understanding the rage and complexity of these individuals disturbances is critical.
Still,
it's rare to have two people committing mass and spree shootings together after the notoriety of the Colorado shootings at Columbine High School in 1999.
It's common to have people wondering which one is the Eric Harris and which one is the Dylan Klebold.
(48:35):
But the RCMP verified that no exact details of the murders were given.
So there's no real way of ever knowing exactly what happened or who pulled the trigger.
For some,
especially parents,
it's almost a compulsive need to know every detail as you race towards some mirage of closure here.
There would be none.
When you watch Al's interviews time and time again.
(48:58):
The pain of someone who is lost in the confusion of their grieving and trauma is palpable.
His vulnerability knows no boundaries and there are moments that feel messy,
uncomfortably raw and unfiltered.
Even with the proof in the september press conference held by the RCMP.
Even with the videos left behind by briar,
he still continued to press on and outward with his anger with little to no reflection and word.
(49:22):
Not only did he take no part of responsibility for what was broken,
he also took no part in healing.
In May 2020 al would be placed on a 12-month peace bond after pleading guilty to sending harassing and threatening emails to a deputy minister Bobby.
Please kiss in the provincial government in December of 2019 tend to be exact between December 12 and 27.
(49:46):
He also sent two emails to B.
C.
Premier john Horgan requesting a restraining order against bobby as well as a federal inquiry the day before his final email threat.
He had called her ranting and screaming profanities,
telling her he knew where she lived.
Al blamed the government for briars death and he was skeptical that the autopsy report matched the description of briar,
(50:07):
his mental health was suffering since the events of that summer.
He was unable to work and sometimes he could barely make it through the day.
He followed the guidelines of a restraining order for five months until a judge found bobby's claims of fearing him to be legitimate.
Since Al had ceased all communications since the charge as well as seeing a psychologist on a weekly basis,
(50:29):
bond would be sufficient.
He was also to receive written consent from his bail supervisor if he wanted to ever travel to Vancouver Island before he left the courtroom,
the judge reminded him that he was getting off easy.
Mr Schmidt Belsky,
you need to understand sir,
that while you may perceive that you have suffered unspeakable personal tragedy to lash out at members of the government who devote themselves to serving the public every day is completely unacceptable to the very fabric of the way our society functions in september 2019.
(51:01):
Al had told a reporter that briar had wanted to be in the army,
given his own fixations along with cam owning a rifle and having hunting experience.
It's valid to assume that both men were eager to have a gun in their hands while cam was busy learning how to handle his weapon,
Bryer was playing first person shooter games and dressing up to imitate someone able to target fear somewhere along the way,
(51:24):
fixation turned to identification and regardless of who came up with the idea first,
both were willing and eager participants.
They kept each other's secrets to the deadliest degree when or how this happened.
Nobody will ever really know for sure to paint either as totally disenfranchised is a disservice to every other person who has to make their way through the darkness of mental illness and severed family trees.
(51:50):
If either briar or cam needed help,
neither of them were interested enough to make that happen.
They've made their decision,
they didn't want support or empathy,
their entitlement craved revenge.
Whatever separation and pain existed in them would spill over and stay behind in their aftermath.
(52:17):
There were many times when briar and cam were called boys most likely because they look so young,
appear so childlike and naive.
They carried themselves with only a half a shared confidence,
the kind of hesitance that comes from not having lived a whole lot of life yet.
Kam and Bryer were technically still teenagers,
but they were also men and regardless of what the motivator was,
(52:41):
that set their plans in motion.
They were men who chose to be defined by their violence all war has broken heart on his sleeve,
allowing the world to peer into his attempts of reconciliation with a son guilty of murder,
but also a son lost to suicide every feeling and double edged sword as he is both victim and survivor of someone else's choices.
(53:02):
But as a living breathing piece of briar by extension,
he's demanded to bear blame.
There is one point in which Al does hit the mark accurately and that's when he admits with an exhausted despair that nothing can bring them back.
But maybe there's something that can be done so that nobody else's child feels the need to take a road trip directly out of their lives and into a psychopathic chaos because of the lack of details and evidence left behind.
(53:27):
It seems that briar and cam soul confided in one another only.
So we'll never really know the mental state of either of them.
Murder suicide is complex and majority researchers agree that at the core is usually suicidally driven violence.
Statistics show that murder suicide perpetrators tend to be highly depressed and overwhelmingly men,
there's a misconception that eventually people just snap,
(53:51):
but for as unpredictable as mass murder is,
there's almost always precipitating events.
What those were may remain uncertain forever.
However,
one thing is clear,
both Kam and Bryer felt a sense of failure,
hopelessness and a dark desire for revenge.
They didn't harm anyone.
They had a relationship with leaving them behind to bear the burden and instead killing strangers when the opportunity presented itself,
(54:15):
the acts were violent with physical brutality and total disregard for human life.
We're used to seeing a build up leading to an event out of the ordinary things they said,
social media posts,
journals or videos,
some sort of forethought and planning Kammen briers actions couldn't have been more impossible to predict without obvious predictors.
(54:37):
Those on the outside naturally speculate that maybe the chance.
Al said briar so desperately needed could have been provided to him somewhere between his childhood and the murders.
A broken home and hurting family aren't to bear the responsibility for briars actions,
but it's the outright refusal to even attempt it.
That leaves a bitter taste in many mouths.
(54:58):
Instead of examining the entire event on an inward level,
at least in his interviews,
Al leaves that piece of the puzzle missing,
projecting his hurt into a world that doesn't know how to hold space for him.
In february 2017,
Sue Klebold did a ted talk called,
My son was a columbine shooter.
This is my story and described what her nearly two decade long search for answers had given her.
(55:22):
I've learned that no matter how much we want to believe,
we can,
we cannot know or control everything our loved ones think and feel and the stubborn belief that we are somehow different,
that someone we love would never think of hurting themselves or someone else can cause us to miss what's hidden in plain sight.
And if worst case scenarios do come to pass,
(55:43):
we'll have to learn to forgive ourselves for not knowing or for not asking the right questions or for not finding the right treatment.
I know that I will live with these multiple tragedies for the rest of my life.
I know that in the minds of many what I lost can't compare to what other families lost.
I know that my struggle doesn't make theirs any easier.
(56:04):
I know that there are some who think I don't have the right to any pain,
but only a life of permanent penance.
In the end,
what I know comes down to this.
The tragic fact is that even the most vigilant and responsible of us may not be able to help,
but for love's sake,
we must never stop trying to know the unknowable.
Whatever apathy,
rage and purposeless,
that might have been suffocating them beneath the surface.
(56:27):
They had left behind in their wake,
bestowed without answers into the lives of strangers.
The lives of giving loving and productive strangers.
China and Lucas had only begun their wildly inspiring adventure.
They had dreams of Troy travel of a humble life rich with memories and family.
Leonard Dick had been passionate and dedicated to encouraging his students.
(56:48):
They were after all,
the future of science.
His belief that knowledge is power reminds us how important it is to look deeper.
Even when it would feel easier to just look away.
Billy Beardy was honored by the grand chief of Manitoba as well as the RCMP for his efforts in the search and in october 2019,
he became Chief of Fox Lake Cree Nation.
(57:11):
There would be a cleansing ritual of the land,
a gathering for the healing of its people.
To pay their respects to the tragedy of loss and most importantly to reclaim how the story ends.
Understanding how something happened isn't the same as closure because no matter how many times you comb through the details of when and where and how,
(57:32):
you'll still never find a satisfactory why?
Sometimes closure is a thing you have to make.
And in choosing to let go,
you take back your power,
you shift from victim to survivor and in that you're able to facilitate your own healing.
Instead of waiting for something else that may never come with openness,
(57:52):
we have to find tinges of the worst parts of ourselves between the lines of these lives and we have to somehow view them all with our own humanity still intact because it is essentially the true ingredient that sets us apart and it is also what will bring us back together
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