World July 20, 2019 | 7:57 am

An American visited her boyfriend in Canada. Both were found dead on a remote highway. Now a third body has been found

Two adults, identified as Chynna Noelle Deese of the United States and Lucas Robertson Fowler of Australia, were found deceased on the Alaska Highway approximately 12.5 miles south of Liard Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada on Monday.

A young American woman and her Australian boyfriend had set out to explore British Columbia when they were found dead on a remote Canadian highway.

A third body has been found on the same Canadian highway where Australian tourist Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend were killed.

The couple is believed to have been shot at close range on the Alaska Highway in British Columbia. Authorities discovered their bodies on Monday.

On Saturday, Royal Canadian Mounted Police found a third body south of the Stikine River Bridge at a highway rest stop.

In a release, the RCMP said they were attending a truck fire, with the vehicle’s occupant missing when a passing driver informed them of the body at the rest stop.

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It remains unclear whether the two crime scenes are related.

Major Crimes and the British Columbian Coroners are investigating the discovery of the third body.

Australian was ‘happy and smiling.’

One of the last people to see Australian tourist Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese alive says the couple was smiling, relaxed and sitting in armchairs on the side of a Canadian highway.

“Obviously their van had broken down, but they were still happy and smiling,” Curtis Broughton told AAP on Friday.

The murdered couple were 'happy and relaxed' beside their broken down van when last seen alive.
The murdered couple were ‘happy and relaxed’ beside their broken-down van when last seen alive. Image: AAP

 

“They were having lunch or a bit of a meal when we pulled up.”

Mr. Fowler, 23, from Sydney, and Ms. Deese, 24, from North Carolina, were found dead at the site hours later.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are treating their deaths as murder.

“It was terrible,” Mr. Broughton, recalling how he later discovered on social media the couple was found dead, said.

“We were shocked.”

Mr. Broughton, a mechanic, and his wife, Sandra, were driving home on Sunday about 3.20pm from a day visiting Liard Hot Springs, a remote area in northern British Columbia.

Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend Chynna Deese were found dead in Canada.
Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend Chynna Deese were found dead in Canada.Image: Facebook

 

The Canadians saw Mr. Fowler’s blue 1986 Chevrolet van had broken down on the Alaska Highway, 20 kilometers south of the springs.

They stopped to offer help.

But after a quick chat with Mr. Fowler, he realized the young Australian had the problem under control.

“He seemed like he had everything diagnosed properly,” Mr. Broughton said.

 

I usually write about some aspect of life in the DR.

However, due to the recent flurry of articles spotlighting the puzzling, incidental, and mysterious deaths of American tourists in the DR, I felt this article provided some perspective.

Tragedy and the unexpected random absurdity of unnatural death can strike anywhere for no reason: even in the seemingly safest, most developed countries.

And while this incident did not involve any of the situations that afflicted tourists in the DR, it is no less mysterious, and it shouldn’t have happened.

28 Canadians also died in the DR so far in 2019.

28 Canadians died in the Dominican Republic this year amid concerns over American tourist deaths

Before anyone goes into a frenzy of alarm and hysteria, be aware that these numbers are entirely within average values for any given year – down significantly from a high of 49 Canadian deaths in 2015.

Still, we wish all their families, friends, and loved ones, some answers, closure, healing, and recovery. Life is genuinely fleeting at the best of times and under ideal conditions. It can be lost anywhere at any time: no rhyme, no reason, no sense.

Live and love life while you can. Share it with everyone you’re able to, and live it to the most with all the ferocity befitting its fragile impermanence.

… And at least try not to panic.

Renn Loren

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