Son of Australian police chief found dead in Canada

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 on Monday along a remote stretch of highway in northern British Columbia province, the police said in a statement late on 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."