As the search for two accused murderers in northern Manitoba stretches into a fourth day, RCMP are relying on the four-legged kind of law enforcement to track them down.

Police streamed into Gillam, Man., this week to continue their search for Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and Kam McLeod, 19.

The longtime friends are the subjects of a Canada-wide manhunt related to the murders of three people in B.C.

RCMP scattered across the rural area after the pair were spotted in the area twice. Their burned-out car was also discovered nearby.

Once the dogs catch a whiff of the young men, their time practically runs out, said Bill Grimmer, a dog trainer whose expertise is in scent detection.

“Just the generic scent of any human. They will lock on it and track it,” he said.

“If the dog came across a pop bottle, it would indicate if it had human scent on it. If you could match that up with the mother looking for her child, who said, ‘I packed a lunch and I put a Coca-Cola can in it,’ then that’s an indication that they’re in the right area.”

From there, it’s a process of elimination.

“They might find out that’s not the person, that’s the guy next door,” he said. “But if they have a PLS — a place last seen — or a footprint, then they have well into the 80 to 90 percent accuracy of finding that person.”

RCMP search the area surrounding Gillam, Man., after murder suspects Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod were spotted there.

The time a dog can hold onto a scent varies. On average, it can last eight hours uninterrupted, Grimmer said.

Environment factors do tend to interfere.

“The humidity, the heat of the day – don’t forget a dog is working with a fur coat on,” he said. “It depends on the convection of the air and the currents of the air that cut across the track and blow it in different areas.”

The search for the two murder suspects has led RCMP to the wilderness.

Gillam is a small town located between Thompson and Churchill, situated along the Nelson River. There is one main provincial road that leads in and out of the town.

The terrain around Gillam is dense with forest. The lakes and rivers lead to marshes and swampy areas teeming with mosquitoes and black flies.

Exacerbating the conditions is the temperature. According to Environment Canada, the area has seen 30 C days lately, which is higher than average for July.

RCMP described the environment as “challenging” but said police are trained for these types of situations.

Jack Schonely, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer and expert on manhunts, agrees.

“I’ve spoken to canine handlers in Canada that actually tracked people through the woods for days or they slept and reacquired the track and after three or four days, captured someone,” he said.

At this point, Schonely believes a lot rests on the dogs and drones.

“It’s almost impossible to search a thick wooded area effectively and safely without a dog,” he said.

“They’re like a laser beam on that scent.”

The RCMP hires purebred German shepherds for most tasks, but other breeds are used for special detection cases.

The dogs start police training when they’re about a year old but “training never really ends,” the RCMP explains on its website, as practice is vital for maintaining the high standards for performance.

The responsibilities of RCMP dogs span from tracking criminals and searching for drugs and explosives to crowd control and community relations.

The officers handling the dogs are hand-picked and go through an equally thorough training process.

Grimmer said officers paired with a dog are typically the most physically fit members of the force and spend hours practising with their four-legged partner.

The role of the officer is that much more important in an environment like northern Manitoba, Grimmer said.

The dogs follow their nose but rely on the officer as their eyes.

If a scent leads the dog to a marsh or river, it’s up to the officer to reroute the dog and take it to the other side of the obstacle in hopes it will carry on the trail.

The RCMP dogs are trained for situations like this almost exclusively, he said.

“If a person stepped their foot in a marshy area and pulled his foot out, that smell would permeate around there because it disturbed the vegetation, and the dog would know that,” he said.

“Even a turned-over rock, a dog can tell that the rock smells different than the one that’s not turned over.”

The motivation a dog can have in these situations often gets the best of them.

Grimmer said it’s up to the officer to determine when the dog needs a break.

“Their drive to do the job is so intense, if they’re not stopped, they’ll track until they die,” he said.

“The officer can see when the dog is exhausted from working so hard that they can order it to stop.”

The RCMP have stayed relatively mum about the scope of the investigation.

Though they have not yet been found, Schmegelsky and McLeod have already been charged in the death of one man – 64-year-old Leonard Dyck of Vancouver.

The pair are still considered suspects in the murders of two tourists, Australian Lucas Fowler and American Chynna Deese, and RCMP said they are pursuing charges in these cases as well.

RCMP said the size and the scope of the search has proved difficult so far.

Grimmer believes it’s only a matter of time.

“You can’t hide, you can’t put camouflage on, you can’t run through water and expect the dog is going to lose the track, because he’s not,” he said.

“If the dog is loose and he’s coming for you and he’s on scent and the officer has allowed the dog to go, you are going to end up in critical care.”

Source: Read Full Article