World

Son of Australian police chief found dead in Canada: Authorities

July 20, 2019
Lucas Robertson Fowler and Chynna Noelle seen in this picture released by the NSW police force. — Courtesy Facebook
Lucas Robertson Fowler and Chynna Noelle seen in this picture released by the NSW police force. — Courtesy Facebook

MONTREAL — One of two young homicide victims found this week in western Canada is the son of a high-ranking Australian police official, 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 found Monday along a remote stretch of highway in northern British Columbia province, the police said in a statement late Friday.

A blue Chevrolet minivan registered in neighboring 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.

The RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for details from AFP. Fowler had settled in British Columbia, local news media said, but the couple had been traveling extensively.

Australian network ABC said Fowler was the son of Stephen Fowler, chief inspector of police in New South Wales, Australia. It quoted an Australian police official as saying the couple reportedly was shot in "what can only be described as horrific circumstances."

The RCMP said its investigation was "in its very infancy and it is not yet clear whether Lucas and Chynna were targeted or if this was a crime of opportunity."

The families of both victims were traveling to Canada, the RCMP statement said.

"To lose someone so young and vibrant, who was traveling the world and just enjoying life to the full, is devastating," the Fowler family said in a statement posted on an Australian police website. — AFP


July 20, 2019
70 views
HIGHLIGHTS
World
2 hours ago

Trump’s Bible endorsement raises concern in Christian religious circles

World
2 hours ago

Colombia expels Argentine diplomats after Milei calls Petro ‘terrorist murderer’ 

World
2 hours ago

Bus carrying Easter worshippers falls off cliff killing 45 people in South Africa