Public Safety Minister Goodale says the national manhunt for suspects in three murders in British Columbia is dangerous, and he asks the public to be vigilant and alert.

He told media at a federal funding announcement in Saskatoon on Wednesday that he trusts RCMP and police services across the country are treating the search seriously.

“This is an active, ongoing police investigation,” he said.

Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, who were considered missing men from Vancouver Island, are suspects in three murders, including a young couple found shot dead on the side of a remote portion of the Alaska Highway.

Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese were discovered dead on the site on July 15.

The two men are also suspects in the death of an unidentified man found more than 400 kilometres away. The man’s body was found a couple kilometres away from the suspects’ burnt truck.

On Tuesday, Saskatchewan RCMP said McLeod and Schmegelsky were seen in Meadow Lake on Sunday.

Manitoba RCMP then said they believed the two had recently been in the Gillam area. In a statement Tuesday evening, Fox Lake Cree Nation Chief Walter Spence said police patrolled the community overnight following the discovery of a “burned and discarded” vehicle near the reserve earlier that day.

Ontario Provincial Police on Wednesday issued a public safety warning.

Goodale said the matter is being handled.

“The RCMP make the very critical judgement calls about what information to release at what time. Their number one consideration is public safety, so they will make the appropriate announcements according to their judgements as to what is best for keep Canadians safe,” he said.

It’s believed McLeod and Schmegelsky are still on the run.

Timeline of events:

July 15 - The bodies of a man and a woman are found near a blue van on the Alaska Highway, also known as Highway 97, near Liard Hot Springs.

July 17 - RCMP say the deaths are suspicious.

July 18 - RCMP announce Australian Lucas Fowler, 23, and American Chynna Deese, 24, are victims of a double homicide. Meanwhile, in Jade City, B.C., Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are spotted in a store where they stopped for free coffee. Jade City is about 350 kilometres from where the two bodies were found.

July 19 - Police announce the body of a man has been found two kilometres from a burned-out truck belonging to McLeod and Schmegelsky near Dease Lake, B.C. The two teens are missing. Dease Lake is about 470 kilometres from the first crime scene.

July 21 - McLeod and Schmegelsky are spotted in Meadow Lake, Sask.

July 22 - Mounties say Fowler and Deese were shot. They release composite sketches of a man seen speaking with the couple on the highway where they were found dead and a sketch of the unidentified man found dead near the burned truck. Fowler's father, an Australian police inspector, pleads for the public's help in the investigation.

July 23 - RCMP announce Schmegelsky and McLeod are now suspects in the three deaths. They release photos of the young men and a 2011 grey Toyota Rav 4 they may be driving. Fox Lake Cree Nation says a burned-out vehicle is found near Gillam in northern Manitoba. Police search that area.

July 24 - Manitoba RCMP confirm the burned-out vehicle near Gillam is the Toyota Rav 4 the suspects are believed to have been driving.

The Canadian Press