A couple who broke down on a notorious Canadian highway have been
found shot dead.
Australian Lucas Fowler,
23, and his American girlfriend, Chynna Deese, 24, were driving towards a
cattle ranch in British Colombia when they were shot at close range.
Police said they have
also found a third body on the same stretch of the Alaska Highway and are
attempting to find out if it is linked.
The 450-mile road has
been dubbed the ‘Highway of Tears’ with up to 50 women vanishing or being
murdered there since 1970.
Locals are terrified
there could be a serial killer on the loose as there have been six deaths in
the past year.
In 2015 women were
warned not to hitchhike in the area.
Lucas and Chynna were
last seen by the side of their blue 1986 Chevrolet about 15 miles south of
Liard Hot Springs on Sunday afternoon.
Their bodies were found
at 7am the next day. Chynna had recently graduated from university while Lucas
was working on a cattle ranch in Canada.
The pair were at the
start of a road trip around the ‘top half of the globe.’ The couple’s friends
and family said they had previously travelled across Europe and Asia together
and were always ‘sensible and cautious.’
One of the last people
to see the couple alive said both were happy just hours before their deaths.
Curtis Broughton said he saw them in arm chairs close to their blue van on the
Alaska Highway.
He said: ‘Obviously
their van had broken down but they were still happy and smiling.
‘They were having lunch
or a bit of a meal when we pulled up.’ He said he and his wife stopped to help
the pair but he realised the young Australian had the problem under control.
Curtis said he was
‘shocked’ when he turned on the news later in the week and found out the pair
had been murdered.
Canadian police are
appealing for witnesses. Sergeant Janelle Shoihet said in a statement this
morning:
‘We recognise this news
is troubling for the entire community and absolutely appreciate there are
concerns for safety, in an area that is popular with nature enthusiasts and
tourists.
‘This investigation is in its very infancy and
it is not yet clear whether Lucas and Chynna were targeted or if this was a
crime of opportunity.
‘At this point, we have nothing to indicate
that their deaths are linked to any other active and ongoing investigations in
the area, or if there is a heightened risk to public safety.
‘This is a unique circumstance and not one I
am personally aware of in recent years.’
Curtis’ dad is a serving
police officer in New South Wales, Australia.
His family posted on
Facebook their son had died in the ‘most terrible of circumstances’ and they
will travel to Canada to bring him home.
‘We have lost our dear Lucas Fowler, son,
brother, grandson and friend in the most terrible of circumstances.
‘To lose someone so young and vibrant, who was
travelling the world and just enjoying life to the full, is devastating.
‘To know his beautiful
girlfriend, Chynna Deese of Charlotte, North Carolina also lost her life in
this violent event is too cruel.’
Since then dozens more
women have vanished on that stretch of road while several bodies have been
found in shallow graves.
Last year, three women
were murdered or went missing while on the Alaska Highway through British
Colombia. Last July, the body of 34-year-old Chantelle Catherine Simpson was
found in the Skeena River.
In September, Jessica
Patrick, aged 18, vanished after last being seen at a McDonald’s restaurant.
Her remains were found
down a steep embankment. On December 23, Cynthia Martin disappeared from
Hazelton and the 50-year-old has not been seen since.
The deaths of Lucas and
Chynna and the mysterious third body take the total to six in the past 12
months.
Source: Metro co uk
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