MONTREAL: Two homicide victims found this week in western Canada are the son of a high-ranking Australian police official and the young man’s US girlfriend, Canadian police said.

The bodies of Lucas Robertson Fowler, a 23-year-old Sydney native, and Chynna Noelle Deese, 24, from the US state of North Carolina, were discovered on Monday along a remote stretch of highway in northern British Columbia province, the police said in a statement.

A blue Chevrolet minivan registered in neighbouring Alberta province was found on the side of the road, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said, without confirming whether the van belonged to the couple.

Fowler had settled in British Columbia, local news media said, but the pair had been travelling extensively. Deese’s family told US media that the couple had embarked on a road trip through Canada.

Fowler was the son of Stephen Fowler, chief inspector of police in New South Wales, Australia. An Australian police official said the couple “met with what can only be described as horrific circumstances.”

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2019