Manitoba RCMP find 'item that may be of interest' in area where search for B.C. fugitives ended

Manitoba RCMP are continuing to scour the area where the hunt for two B.C. fugitives ended earlier this week with the discovery of two bodies thought to be the suspects.

Sgt. Paul Manaigre said six search team officers were in the Gillam area on Friday, combing the area where the bodies were found. He said they were also searching the location eight kilometres away where a burned-out SUV was abandoned by the suspects.

"Our team did locate an item that may be of interest to the investigation, but it will have to be examined to determine its relevance," Manaigre told CBC News in an email Saturday.

On Wednesday, RCMP revealed they had found the bodies of two men, believed to be Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky, in thick brush near the Nelson River east of Gillam, about 740 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

The men had been the subject of an intense search since being identified two weeks earlier as suspects in the killings of three people in northern British Columbia.

The two bodies were flown to Winnipeg on Wednesday night, to await autopsies to conclusively identify them and determine the cause of death. The RCMP had no word on Friday about when the autopsies would be done.

Manaigre said Saturday the RCMP still has extra officers in the Gillam area and that will continue until this part of the investigation is complete.

"I don't have a timeline on when the operation will end," he said.