It has been a year since the manhunt from British Columbia to Gilliam Manitoba.
Trauma can leave deep emotional scars on those involved in massive manhunt a year ago. The discovery of their bodies does not erase this fear and uneasiness for the community of Gilliam. Being under constant stress and anxiety takes its toll on everyone involved. None of us is invincible. The ripple effect impacts the family and friends of the victims, people watching the news, and those in the communities.
The triple homicide in British Columbia, extensive manhunt across three provinces, suspects hiding in a small northern Manitoba community, weeks of aerial and ground searching has left its emotional mark on those involved.
“It was an unusual sight: a barking police dog in northern Manitoba’s remote dense brush and heavily armed tactical officers in camouflage as a drone flew overhead. The officers were draped in head net mesh to keep thousands of swarming bugs away.
This scene that played out a year ago this week near Gillam, Man., would mark the start of a nationwide hunt for Canada’s two most wanted men — B.C. teenagers Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and Kam McLeod, 19.
The RCMP say the teens, who were first reported as missing, murdered Chynna Deese, an American, her Australian boyfriend, Lucas Fowler, and University of British Columbia botany lecturer Leonard Dyck before going on the run — triggering what may be the largest manhunt in Canadian history.”
It’s been a year since those tragic events were three innocent people were gun down by two murderers. The cross Canada manhunt, the fear and confusion in the different communities have lasting effects. A small town was the focus, on a global scale, of the manhunt for the two killers. It ended in their suicide, However, the ramifications the emotional impact continues.
Trauma is an individual experience. Summer in the north has its challenges with the flies, difficult terrain, the amount of equipment each police officer has to carry for hours in the intense heat. Add to these extreme difficulties the mental toll knowing these two killers are prepared to go down in a ‘blaze of glory’. For any police officer and those involved in the search, compounds the sense of alertness and heightened vigilance. ‘Suicide by cop’ was reality. Knowing the suspects were armed and hiding kept everyone on high alert for days and weeks.
No one really can predict how they will respond and recover until it happens to them. That sense of hypervigilance for days and days, freedom of movement restricted, armed police and soldiers everywhere, the constant media attention and graphic details, the searching of homes, suspicion among the community of someone helping the killers, the children having to leave the community,
“Obviously it’s still in his mind and he’s still under the protection mode.”
Some folks can recover quickly and move forward as if nothing has changed in their life. Others may not be as lucky and they have anxiety, depression in some cases post-traumatic stress disorder. The police the military also will have their individual experiences and how they have moved forward from this event. Think about it for days and nights they were walking through the bush knowing there were two serial killers out there willing to kill them. The terrain, the flies the heat the emotional stress and fear takes a toll on everyone. None of us is immune from dealing or experiencing long-term trauma from an event such as the hunt for those two killers.
The community has lost its sense of innocence, sense of trust and sense of freedom. It is an
“The discovery of the fugitives’ bodies along the Nelson River, near the Fox Lake Cree Nation, provided a sense of relief for residents who had been looking over their shoulders for weeks.
It calmed Canadians who thought they spotted the teens in other provinces and marked the end to a story that gripped the world.
“I think it would’ve been a totally different scenario if they were never found. Them being found, I think, put a lot of people’s minds at ease that this hopefully once-in-a-lifetime situation that happened up here, worldwide manhunt, ended with closure,” Forman said.
But the discovery, which happened with the help of Fox Lake resident Billy Beardy, didn’t provide answers to the big question: Why?”
There is never going to be an ‘answer’ to why. The millions of questions of the victims’ families, the community of Gilliam, the RCMP, the Military and media will never be able to answer the why. It is the randomness that has created this terror. Innocent people living their lives and senselessly gunned down.
“A year after manhunt for teen murder suspects, some in Manitoba town are forever changed”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/gillam-manhunt-murder-suspects-1.5658395
We cannot go back to the way we were before this tragic event, what we need to do is find our way to move forward. Having community dialogue with professional help to learn about trauma and how we all react differently. Children react differently than adults based on their level of knowledge and experiences. There is no ‘right way’ to process trauma.
‘It does give me chills sometimes’
Sandra Broughton, a resident of Fort Nelson, B.C., said she still wonders what would have happened if Fowler and Deese took her and her husband up on an offer of help while their van was broken down on the Alaska Highway.
“You always have the what ifs in the back of your head,” she said.”
Having conversations, checking in on each other, kindness and compassion are important for those struggling to move forward and thrive after the fear. Yes, you can and it takes time and more time. Understanding the need for self-care and this looks and feels different for everyone trying to cope. Being aware of our triggers and working on taking control of our fear. To move forward is not forgetting, moving forward is an active decision that takes time and more time.