RCMP divers search Manitoba river after damaged boat found in hunt for B.C. fugitives

Divers spent hours Sunday afternoon searching anorthern Manitoba river near the spot where a damaged aluminum boat washed up on shore, in hopes there may be clues to the whereabouts of twoyoung men wanted in connection to threeB.C. homicides.

Searchers on a helicopter spotted the rudimentary, silver boat on the shore of the Nelson River on Friday afternoon, RCMP said on Sunday.

Based on the discovery, five members of theUnderwater Recovery Team were sent to "conduct a thorough underwater search of significant areas of interest today," the RCMP said in a news release.

The decisionto enlist divers comes just days after the Mounties began winding down their search for Kam McLeod, 19, andBryer Schmegelsky, who would turn 19 today,in the bush and swamp around Gillam, Man., where the lastconfirmed sighting occurred on July 22.

In the early afternoon on Sunday, divers set off from a sloped patch offorested terrain huggingthe Nelson River, hauling scuba tanks and settling into a boatbefore they departed. Meanwhile, a helicopter scoured the river from overhead.

Theriver is hundreds of metres wide and flowsrapidly, poweringseveral hydroelectric dams vital to the province.

The underwater search wrapped up around 5 p.m. CT.

RCMP havesearched for the fugitives for 13 days. The trail for the suspects recently wentcoldbecause of a lack of new leads, but policeinsisted last week they weren'tgivingup.

RCMP said on Saturday night they would not disclosespecifics about where their Underwater Recovery Team was searching.

The two men, childhood friendsfromPort Alberni, B.C.,are chargedwith second-degree murder in the death ofUniversity of British Columbia lecturer Leonard Dyck, and are suspects in the killings of tourist coupleLucas Fowler andChynna Deese.

Gillam, a town of about 1,300, is located about 730 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

The Nelson River flows north from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson Bay, and Gillam is located nearits banks.

Before announcing last Wednesday that police were reducing their presence in the area, searchers were combing a rugged terrain that covered11,000 square kilometres about twice the size of P.E.I.

At the height of the pursuit, officers used aerial surveillance, drones andpolice dogs and canvassed every home and abandoned building, but nosightings of the fugitives have been confirmed since a burned-out Toyota RAV4 wasfound near Sundance Creek, northeast of Gillam, Man, on July 21. It is believed the pairwere driving the vehicle.

Police said last week that ground and air searches would continue, but wouldn't be as robust as before.The Mountiessaid they would return to high probability areas, includingsome of the paths, cabins and hunting shacks theyhave already explored.

"In searching for people in vast, remote and rugged locations, it's always a possibility that they're not going to be immediately located," RCMP Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchysaid at the time.

Gillam MayorDwayne Forman said on Sunday thatresidents are anxious for this countrywide hunt to come to a close with the suspects located.

"We need this to end so people can start to feel safe," he said.

"People in town are talking to me about walking by trailers and seeing that an entrancewayis openand they're afraid to go close to that, because they don't know," Forman said. "Idon't want that in our community. I want them to feel secure."