The Globe and Mail - 30.07.2019

A6 OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | TUESDAY,JULY30,

Come Sunday, a group of patroll-
ers told the RCMP they had spot-
ted two men in York Landing that
fit the descriptions of suspects
Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and Kam
McLeod, 19.
In a phone interview from
Winnipeg, Mr. Favel said while
the Bear Clan Patrol does not typ-
ically search for fugitives, “being
in harm’s way isn’t necessarily
new to us.”
Mr. Schmegelsky and Mr.
McLeod have been charged with
second-degree murder in the
death of Vancouver man Leonard
Dyck, 64. The pair are also sus-
pects in the deaths of American
Chynna Deese, 24, and her 23-
year-old Australian boyfriend Lu-
cas Fowler. Charges have not been
laid in their cases.
On Monday, the RCMP said of-
ficers searched the York Landing
area overnight and through the
day, but had not been able to sub-
stantiate the tip. “As such, the
RCMP is not in a position to con-
firm that these are the wanted
suspects,” the federal police ser-
vice said in a statement.
Gillam and its neighbouring
First Nation communities were,
and still are, on high alert. But
thanks to the Bear Clan Patrol,
civilians in the area have addi-

tional support – and eyes – on the

ground.

The Indigenous-led group usu-

ally patrols Winnipeg’s down-

town streets, de-escalating situa-

tions before they become police

matters, searching for missing

persons, distributing food, reduc-

ing crime and building a sense of

community. This time, though,

the Bear Clan Patrol is working to

fill a gap in the policing of under-

served remote communities, ac-

cording to a statement last week

from the assembly, which repre-

sents 62 First Nations and re-

quested the group’s help.

The group’s presence and re-

ported sighting of the two men

has raised its profile. After wind-

ing down following a three-year

stint in the 1990s, the Bear Clan

Patrol was reborn in 2015 under

the leadership of Mr. Favel, a 50-

year-old grandfather who turned

his life around after a string of

drug-related convictions. Chap-

ters have since emerged in cities

and communities across the

country, as far east as Montreal

and as far west as Port Alberni,

B.C., which happens to be where

the two fugitives are from.

The roots of the Bear Clan Pa-

trol’s revival can be traced back to

2002, when Mr. Favel was arrested

for the last time. Out on bail and

facing the prospect of three years

in prison, he left his job as a boun-

cer at a bar and got a Class 1 driv-

er’s licence. By the time Mr. Favel

went before a judge for sentenc-

ing, he was working for a local

trucking company. The officer

who had arrested him stood by

him in court and is now the chair

of the Bear Clan Patrol’s board.

Mr. Favel, a member of Peguis

First Nation, served a conditional

sentence in the community and

created a new life for himself. He

bought two adjoining properties

in Winnipeg’s North End, and

looked around.

“My neighbours didn’t have it

as good,” he said. “I felt com-

pelled to try to improve the lives

of those around me.”

He was also spurred to act by

the case of Tina Fontaine, a 15-

year-old Indigenous girl who fell

through the cracks of numerous

social-services safety nets and

was killed in the summer of 2014.

“That was the last straw,” Mr.

Favel said. “We had to do some-

thing.”

At the time, he was chairman

of the Dufferin Residents Associ-

ation, a North End neighbour-

hood group. The city agreed to al-

low for $900 that had been sitting

in the association’s account to be

diverted to a walking patrol. The

city’s Bear Clan Patrol has grown

from 12 volunteers in 2015 to

more than 1,600 today and has

nine paid staff.

The Bear Clan Patrol’s head of-

fice is known as “the den.” Wear-

ing neon vests, volunteers head

out from there and two other lo-

cations for a few hours most eve-

nings. On Fridays and Saturdays,

they stay out later. Images of the

volunteers are posted to the Bear

Clan Patrol’s Facebook page each

day. That way, if anyone from the

public spots someone with a his-

tory of violence against women

or sexual crime – the two types of

crime that preclude a person

from participation – organizers

can be made aware.

Winnipeg was a natural home

for the Bear Clan Patrol, Mr. Favel

said. It has the largest Indigenous

population of any major city in

Canada. Manitoba has the highest

incarceration rate in the country;

about three-quarters of its in-

mates are Indigenous. Indige-

nous children are also dispropor-

tionately represented in the

child-welfare system. Tina Fon-

taine was one of them. Her home

reserve, Manitoba’s Sagkeeng

First Nation, is considering

launching its own Bear Clan, Mr.

Favel said.

Police services across the

country have for years been work-

ing to improve relationships with

the Indigenous communities

they serve. Mr. Favel said the Bear

Clan Patrol assists in that process,

acting as a liaison between offi-

cers and residents, if need be. The

Winnipeg Police Service Endow-

ment Fund is among those that

has provided grants to the group,

which today has charitable status

and relies on public and private

funding.

While Bear Clan Patrol mem-

bers in Winnipeg go about their

usual work in the urban core,

those who flew to northern Mani-

toba will continue searching the

area and going door to door to

check on families.

“In the inner city, this is what

we do,” Mr. Favel said. “We’re

shoulder to shoulder with our

community members.”

BearClan:Group’spresenceandreportedsightingofsuspectshasraiseditsprofile

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The Indigenous-led

group usually patrols

Winnipeg’s downtown

streets, de-escalating

situations before they

become police matters,

searching for missing

persons, distributing

food, reducing crime

and building a sense

of community.

York Factory First Nation Chief
Leroy Constant said late Monday
afternoon in a Facebook post
that the emergency response
team was heading back to Gillam
to “develop a plan moving for-
ward.”
“Major Crime Unit has also
left the community. Ten officers
will remain in York Landing
overnight ... They will be depart-
ing on the 8 a.m. ferry.”
At the dump earlier on Mon-
day, the RCMP combed the area
with sniffer dogs as a drone sur-
veyed from above. Officers
dressed in camouflage fatigues
and carrying rifles scanned the
bush and dump on foot. A hel-
icopter circled overhead.
But by midafternoon, the
Mounties said in a tweet that,
“After a thorough and exhaus-
tive search, RCMP Manitoba has
not been able to substantiate the
tip in York Landing.”
York Landing is a community
of about 500 people, accessible
by ferry from Split Lake or by
foot by following power and rail
lines through the dense, insect-
laden bush. It is about 100 kilo-
metres southwest from Gillam,
but rough terrain and limited
roads easily double the journey.
At first, Travis Bighetty, a co-
ordinator for the Bear Clan Pa-
trol, and Justin Coelho, a fresh
volunteer, thought the men
might be contract workers or res-
idents. But then they noticed
there was no other vehicle
around. No one in the communi-
ty goes to the dump on foot be-
cause of the threat posed by the
bears.
“They looked like they were
scrounging around, looking for
something, and they kind of
scuffled away when we seen
them,” Mr. Bighetty recalled
Monday, as he and Mr. Coelho

were back on patrol.

The men, one clad in a grey

sweatshirt and one in a camou-

flage sweatshirt, bolted into the

woods at the sound of the patrol

vehicle, Mr. Bighetty said.

The community was put on

lockdown as police searched for

the suspects, with radio announ-

cements reminding residents ev-

ery few minutes to stay inside

with their doors locked and win-

dows closed.

Many residents barely slept

Sunday night. Charlene Saun-

ders, a mother of five, said she

was too scared to sleep and

didn’t nod off until the sun rose.

“I feel safe now that the police

are here,” she said Monday after

getting groceries. The store’s

hours were shortened because of

the lockdown.

Meanwhile, new details are

emerging about an encounter

with Mr. Schmegelsky and Mr.

McLeod on July 22 in Split Lake,

Man., one day before their

burned-out Toyota RAV4 was

discovered in Gillam and they

were named as homicide sus-

pects.

First Nations Safety Officer

Sylvia Saunders said the two

had driven past the check stop

on the gravel road leading to

Split Lake. The small communi-

ty is dry and stops all vehicles to

check for alcohol.

When the Toyota didn’t stop,

the two band constables man-

ning the checkpoint hopped in

their vehicle and pursued them

down a hill with lights on, Ms.

Saunders said. The constables

pulled the two young men over

and informed them that they

were supposed to stop at the

checkpoint.

“They apologized and said

they needed to gas up,” Ms.

Saunders said.

One of the constables said

they would have to take a quick

look inside the vehicle.

“They looked toward the

[backseat] and they said they

noticed camping gear and

maps,” Ms. Saunders said. “They

didn’t have to do a thorough

search; they weren’t asked to

step out or anything.”

The constables would recog-

nize the suspects the next day

when their images were shared

in a group chat. One recalled that

Mr. McLeod was driving, and that

Mr. Schmegelsky “was looking all

paranoid,” Ms. Saunders said.

The encounter at the check-

point occurred midafternoon on

July 22; by early the following

evening, their vehicle was found

torched near Fox Lake Cree Na-

tion, about 170 kilometres away

northeast.

RCMPofficersstandalongaroadnearYorkLanding,Man.TheMountieshadreceivedatipaboutthetwofugitivesbeinginthearea,butbymidafternoontweetedthattheforce‘hasnot
beenabletosubstantiatethetip’intheregion.PHOTOS BY MELISSA TAIT/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Investigation:NewdetailsemergeaboutsightingoftwoteensonJuly

MAN.

B.C. ALTA.

U.S.

SASK.

THE GLOBEANDMAIL, SOURCE:TILEZEN;OPENSTREETMAPCONTRIBUTORS; HIU

CANADA

0 300

KM

July 18,JadeCity:

Suspects spotted

July 19,DeaseLake:

Abody found two

kilometPes fPom tPuck

belongingto suspects

July 15, neaPLiardHotSprings:

Twobodies found onAlaska Highway

July 21,

MeadowLake:

Suspects spotted

July2 3 ,Gillam:

Suspects’buPned-

out vehicle found

StephensLake

SplitLake

July 28,

YorkLanding:

SuspectsPepoPtedly

spotted

July 22,SplitLake:

Bandconstables pulled

the paiPovePbefoPe they

wePe named suspects

0

KM

12

280

July 21,

ColdLake:

Suspects spotted

YorkLanding,Man.,isacommunityofabout500people,accessibleby

ferryfromSplitLakeorbyfootbyfollowingpowerandraillinesthrough

thedense,insect-ladenbush.

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