Manitoba RCMP said officers located two male bodies, believed to belong to the suspects, near the shoreline of the Nelson River. The discovery was made at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy said at a press conference that she is “confident” the bodies belong to the suspects, but cannot confirm until autopsy results are determined.

MacLatchy said the two bodies were found in a “dense bush” area, roughly eight kilometres from where a burnt vehicle was found days earlier.

She explained that RCMP found a “critical piece of evidence” on Friday that allowed them to focus on certain areas and carry out a search on foot.

“Following this discovery, we were at last able to narrow down the search. We immediately sent in specialized RCMP teams to begin searching nearby high probability areas,” MacLatchy said.

On Saturday, RCMP had said they found “several items” directly linked to the suspects along the banks of the Nelson River but did not provide details on what the items were.

Schmegelsky and McLeod, both aged 19, were charged with second-degree murder in the death of Vancouver man Leonard Dyck. They were also suspects in the shooting deaths of Australian Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese of North Carolina.

News of the suspects’ possible deaths ended the cross-country manhunt, which had involved the RCMP, local police forces and the Canadian military.

Police had originally described Schmegelsky and McLeod as missing persons before naming them as suspects in the murders on Tuesday, July 23. They were wanted on a Canada-wide warrant.

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