An American woman and her Australian boyfriend en route to Alaska were found dead along a remote stretch of highway in Canada.
The bodies of Chynna Deese, 24, and her boyfriend, Lucas Fowler, were reportedly discovered shot to death nearby a broken-down van along the Alaska Highway in British Columbia.
Sgt. Janelle Shoihet of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that there is an ongoing investigation into the deaths. The FBI is working with Canadian authorities.
“At this point, we have nothing to indicate that their deaths are linked to any other active and ongoing investigations in the are, or if there is a heightened risk to public safety,” Shoihet said in the statement.
Deese and Fowler were exploring Canada’s national parks with the ultimate goal of driving to Alaska. Their bodies were found nearby a blue 1986 Chevrolet van with Alberta plates. Fowler was living in Canada and Deese was visiting him, according to Shoihet.
Deese’s mother said that her daughter, originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, had spent several years traveling the world.
“She loved people. She didn’t meet a stranger, but she was cautious,” Sheila Deese said. “It’s tragic when someone dies, but when they’re in another country, you can’t go and be near them. You can’t be face-to-face and ask questions or go and see where it happened.
I don’t want it to happen to someone else. I do want to find the person who did it,” she added.
The area they were found them is located to the far north of another notoriously infamous British Columbia highway dubbed the “Highway of Tears.” The stretch of road is dotted with the billboards of missing people and warning signs. Since the 1970s, dozens of people, primarily indigenous women, have disappeared or been killed along the winding road.
Some news outlets, including Metro and Yahoo News Australia, incorrectly reported that the Alaska Highway where the bodies were found was the same road as the Highway of Tears.
Deese’s mother said that the couple were perfect for each other when discussing the loss of her daughter.
“It is a love story, a southern girl goes out of the country, meets this Australian and they were just the same personality,” Sheila Deese said. “It was like two butterflies that found each other and they were going to be forever.”
Police say they aren’t sure if the couple was targeted or if the killings were a random act of violence.
