GILLAM, Manitoba — Canadian police on Monday urged people in a remote northern town to stay inside and lock their doors as officers hunt for two teenagers sought in the killings of three people in northern British Columbia.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police tweeted Monday that they had received a tip the night before that “two males matching the description of the wanted suspects were seen in York Landing, Manitoba,” and said “it is critical” that residents there “stay indoors as much as possible with their doors locked.”

Nineteen-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, whose body was found last week in British Columbia.

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Security camera images of Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are displayed during a news conference in Surrey, British Columbia, Tuesday, July 23, 2019. The two young men, thought to be missing, are now suspects in the murders of an American woman and her Australian boyfriend as well as the death of another man in northern British Columbia, Canadian police said. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP

They are also suspects in the fatal shootings of Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese of Charlotte, North Carolina, whose bodies were found July 15 along the Alaska Highway about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Dyck’s killing.

The RCMP Manitoba said the Royal Canadian Air Force was assisting with the search.

Police earlier had been searching further east in the town of Gillam, aided by tracking dogs and drones.

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Meanwhile, the father of one of the suspects has sent a book to reporters describing his mental health, harassment convictions involving his ex-wife and his relationship with his fugitive son.

Alan Schmegelsky said the book titled “Red Flagged” is a novelization of actual events and fictionalizes some incidents.

He said he sent the book to reporters to highlight how a “broken system” has shaped him and his son.

“My son and I have been treated like footballs. It’s time for some truth,” he said.

He writes that he was arrested by Victoria police on Aug. 4, 2008, his son Bryer’s eighth birthday, three years after his acrimonious split with the boy’s mother.

Court records show he was charged with criminal harassment in December 2008. He was found guilty of the lesser offence of disobeying a court order.

He returned to court numerous times over the next decade on charges of harassment and breach of probation.

Schmegelsky says he does not currently have a permanent residence and has been homeless for about two years, staying primarily in Victoria.

He has said that he did not see his son between the ages of 8 and 16, at which age his son briefly lived with him in Victoria and they worked in construction together for a summer. He showed The Canadian Press recent photos and videos of his son on his phone.

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