If you believe you’ve seen the B.C. murder suspects, here’s what you shouldn’t do, police say: Don’t immediately post it to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Instead, notify police.
That’s the message Greater Sudbury Police is pushing in social media posts late Thursday.
“We are aware of unconfirmed sightings in our area of two persons wanted for homicide in BC. We currently have no confirmed sightings in our area. We are aware of misinformation related to the murder suspects via social media and ask the public to refrain from spreading rumours,” the tweet reads.
“Any confirmed sightings will be shared through GSPS social media sites. We urge the community to rely on the GSPS social media/website as their trusted source of info. Should any sighting be confirmed we will issue a community notification immediately.”
We are aware of unconfirmed sightings in our area of two persons wanted for homicide in BC. We currently have no confirmed sightings in our area. We are aware of misinformation related to the murder suspects via social media and ask the public to refrain from spreading rumours.
— Sudbury Police (@SudburyPolice) August 2, 2019
Any confirmed sightings will be shared through GSPS social media sites. We urge the community to rely on the GSPS social media/website as their trusted source of info. Should any sighting be confirmed we will issue a community notification immediately.
— Sudbury Police (@SudburyPolice) August 2, 2019
Reports in Sudbury continue a trend of hyper-vigilance among Northern Ontario residents. Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod, who are suspected in three murders in British Columbia, have not been seen since July 22, when they were spotted near Gillam, Man.
A massive search effort involving the RCMP with support from the Canadian military failed to find any trace of the two teens, despite a week of intense and extensive work.
As the suspects were heading east, police warned Ontario residents that Schmegelsky and McLeod could be in the province.
Then, on the morning of July 31, a resident of Kapuskasing, a small forestry community on Highway 11, 460 kilometres north of Sudbury, reported that a flagman working on a highway construction project claimed to have had a gun pulled on him by two young men in a car, who the flagman believed were the B.C. suspects.
This report has not been confirmed, and police think it’s unlikely it was Schmegelsky and McLeod. Still, the report spread far and wide, and reports of possible sightings came from Iron Bridge, Cochrane and Greater Sudbury.
Police say they are following up on all reports, but so far, none have proved credible.
They are asking the public not to post possible sightings to social media, as it generates fear and confusion. Instead, GSPS said, report suspicions directly to police.
