Australian police have confirmed that a young man found dead with a young woman along the Alaska Highway earlier this week is the son of a senior New South Wales officer.
Australian police say a young man found dead with a young woman along the Alaska Highway in northern B.C. earlier this week is the son of a senior New South Wales officer.
Police confirmed that the couple discovered dead on Monday are Lucas Fowler of New South Wales on Australia’s east coast and his American partner, Chynna Deese, of Charlotte, N.C.
RCMP say the pair are victims of a double homicide that occurred sometime between July 14 and 15.
In a release on Thursday, Northern Rockies RCMP reported two suspicious deaths along the Alaska Highway, 20 kilometres south of the popular Liard Hot Springs in B.C. Their bodies were discovered around 7:20 a.m. PT on July 15.
It appears the couple was shot dead, said Assistant Commissioner Mark Jones with North West Metropolitan Region Command of the New South Wales police force.
Police said they are seeking anybody with video of the area where the pair was found near an older blue minivan with Alberta license plates.
Two days ago, an RCMP release sought anybody who saw that van or helped the occupants.
Jones said two homicide detectives are being flown from Australia to Vancouver to act as liaisons for the victim’s families while RCMP investigate.
He said Australian police have the “utmost confidence” in the RCMP.
Australian media reported that one of the investigators, Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Walpole, landed at the Vancouver airport on Friday evening.
‘Beautiful young people’
The family of Chief Insp. Stephen Fowler issued a statement, which is posted on the New South Wales Police Force site, expressing their devastation over the loss of Fowler and Deese, who were travelling the world.
“We are now travelling to Canada to be with our boy and to bring him home,” says the post, which urges people to share it with all those who “crossed paths anywhere in the world with these beautiful young people.”
Fowler and Deese recently posted images of their travels from Jordan to Turkey earlier this spring.
Condolences are being posted on social media sites of the pair’s siblings.
Kennedy Deese posted on Facebook that she had lost her sister and her sister’s boyfriend while they were on a Canadian road trip.
“It is with overwhelming sadness that I share [they] were recently found deceased, homicide victims along a remote stretch of highway in Canada,” she wrote.
“They were bright and beautiful souls. We are all still in shock and heartbroken.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Fort Nelson RCMP at 250-774-2700, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 if they wish to remain anonymous.
