The father of one of the Canadian teenagers suspected of shooting dead Australian tourist Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese expects the murderous rampage to end in "a blaze of glory" gun battle with police.
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Royal Canadian Mounted Police were swarming the vicinity of the small town of Gillam, Manitoba, a wild and remote area of northern Canada.
Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are suspected of murdering Mr Fowler, Ms Deese and Vancouver father Leonard Dyck in Canada's western province of British Columbia and in the past few days driving more than 3000km east to Gillam.
The RCMP announced on Wednesday they have charged McLeod and Schmegelsky with Mr Dyck's second-degree murder.
Authorities were initially unable to identify Mr Dyck when his body was found last Friday on a BC highway.
"We are truly heartbroken by the sudden and tragic loss of Len," the Dyck family said in a statement.
The charge allows the RCMP to issue Canada-wide warrants for McLeod and Schmegelsky.
The teenagers' second car, a Toyota RAV4 SUV, was found abandoned and on fire in bushland outside Gillam on Monday night.
"These suspects should not be approached and if you do see them to call 911 or your local police immediately," RCMP Corporal Julie Courchaine told reporters on Wednesday.
A distraught Alan Schmegelsky said his son was dealing with some "very serious pain", was on a "suicide mission" and he expects his son to be killed by police.
"He wants his hurt to end," Mr Schmegelsky told Canadian Press.
"They're going to go out in a blaze of glory.
"Trust me on this."
McLeod's father, Keith McLeod, released a statement talking up the compassionate nature of his son despite communities across Canada terrified of crossing paths with him.
"This is what I do know - Kam is a kind, considerate, caring young man," Mr McLeod wrote.
Gillam, with a population of just 1265, is so isolated the mayor describes it as "the end of the road".
Gillam local Bill Beardy, who found the burning SUV on Monday night, said he initially thought it was a grassfire, discovered the burning car and two days later heard it belonged to the suspected killers.
"It made everyone on edge," he told CTV News.
Mr Beardy said he saw camping gear in the back of the burning vehicle.
If the teenagers did flee into the wilderness, Gillam's Deputy Mayor John McDonald said the fugitives could not have picked a worse time.
"The sandflies came out three days ago and they're just voracious," he said.
"I'm quite sure they'll be more than happy to have someone find them."
McLeod and Schmegelsky first came on the RCMP's radar on Friday when their Dodge pick-up truck was found burning 2km away from Mr Dyck's body near Dease Lake, BC, and the duo went missing.
Mr Fowler, 23, from Sydney, and Ms Deese, 24, from North Carolina, were found shot dead and left in a ditch near their broken-down van 20km south of Liard Hot Springs, BC, nine days ago.
The couple was on a Canadian road trip.
Australian Associated Press
