Military costs in northern Manitoba manhunt for B.C. fugitives pegged at $123K

The final price tag attached to amanhunt in northern Manitoba last summer could be nearly $1.7 million, afterthe military announced the tally for its involvement was$123,000.

The cost for the Canadian Armed Forces covers the price ofdeploying personnel andtwo aircraftforthe expansive search effort forKamMcLeod, 19, andBryerSchmegelsky, 18, as well asmaintenance and support needs, the military said in an email this month.

The $122,958 bill does not account for any salaries, nor the cost of equipment the military already owns.

In addition to the military's bill, RCMP in B.C.spent $750,000 to investigate the three homicides for which the duo were wanted. Manitoba RCMP have not provided an exact figure for their costs, but have previously said they were "expected to be well under $800,000."

In videos made before McLeod and Schmegelskykilled themselves, the duo admitted to killing botanist Leonard Dyck, AmericanChynna Deeseand her Australian boyfriend, Lucas Fowler in B.C.

Military aid requested

The hunt for the fugitives, which ended in thedense, unforgiving terrain near Gillam, Man., captivated the country and brought international attention. The searchended withthe discovery of the men's bodies after 16 days.

The military landed innorthern Manitoba to help on July 27,four days into the police hunt.

The Armed Forcesbroughta CP-140 Aurora aircraft with infrared camera and imaging radar surveillance systems,a CC-130H Hercules withtrained searchand rescue spotters, and a number of crew members.

For about four days, the aircraft scouredkey points in northern Manitoba, including Gillam, Sundance, York Landing and the Nelson River. They also searched farther north to Churchill, and east to James Bay.

The Hercules spent nearly 24 hours searching in the air, while the Aurora was scouring the terrainfor more than17 hours.

The military's search efforts ended on July 30. The next day, the RCMP, which led the mission, announced theywould scale back their deployment.The military remained on standby until Aug. 8, the day after policefound the bodies.

A routine review of the military's mission commended theair force for completing the task quickly.

The Hercules and Aurora air crews "accomplished their missions, providing surveillance on specified geographical features, and investigated numerous objects of interest, in a safe, agile, and effective manner," said the report, obtained by CBC through an access to information request.

But the reportflagged a fewcommunication problems, including"some confusion" over who coulddirect the search planes and concern the RCMPwas dealing with multiple military contacts rather than one.