Epic fail in Canada double murder case

Canadian police were left looking foolish when they livestreamed a press conference on the double murder of Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend in British Columbia.

According to the New York Post, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were giving a very serious press conference into the brutal killing of the young couple who were shot on the side of a highway while touring British Columbia – but someone had left a cat filter on the live feed.

The ridiculous result was to give the chief officer cats ears and whiskers.

Sgt. Janelle Shoihet was left with pink ears along with a black nose and whiskers, according to Fox News, giving the Royal Canadian Mounted Police a PR catastrophe in addition to a confounding and horrific crime to solve.

“Yes we are aware and addressing it as it’s an automatic setting,” the force quickly tweeted after a barrage of messages drawing attention to the silly sight.

“Thank you, we will rectify and issue a video shortly,” the RCMP added, with a cleaned-up video posted later.

It did not end the online teasing, with many stressing that such filters are not automatic settings.

“Are you going to fix that right meow?” joked one follower, Ben Beecher, on Twitter.

But not everyone was amused by the blunder – or mischief – saying that it wasn’t very reassuring to see the agency in charge of solving a seriously horrific crime unable to manage their social media accounts.

“Honestly, devastated families are watching these clowns beclown themselves; they’re reliant on them to solve the murders,” tweeted one commentator.

Last month, politicians in Pakistan had a similar feline-filter fail while livestreaming a press conference.

It comes as reports surfaced that a Canadian road worker claims she saw a couple arguing with a bearded man the night before the bodies of Fowler and Deese were found.

Alandra Hull told Nine News she noticed a couple in a “heated exchange with a bearded man” in the middle of the Alaska Highway.

She said the couple seemed bothered by a mystery man who had approached them from a grey car.

The road worker said she saw a van along the highway, similar to the couple’s. Investigators have asked her to provide a composite of the mystery man.

Another road worker, Trevor, told Nine he found the couple’s bodies the next day.

Lucas and Chynna were found dead last Monday about 750km from the side of the Alaska Highway after their blue 1986 Chevrolet van broke down.

Trevor claimed when he saw the van the back right window of it had been smashed and both right doors were left open.

He told Nine he rushed to the couple’s bodies to see if they could be saved and that what he saw is still vivid in his mind.

The latest development comes as Canadian police are believed to know the car driven by the double killer who shot the couple.

According to a local chef who works close to where the murders took place in remote northern British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police know the vehicle used by the killer to flee the scene but have yet to find it.

Investigators are also said to know that the suspect fled north, meaning he would have headed in the direction of where a third body was found close to a burning pick-up truck on Friday.

Police have so far not said if there is any connection between the double killing and the discovery of the burning remains more than 600km away.

Meanwhile, Lucas’s heartbroken family landed in Canada as local authorities vowed to look at all leads to solve the murders.

Mr Fowler’s father, NSW Police Chief Inspector Stephen Fowler, told Nine while transiting at Los Angeles airport that Lucas was “just a wonderful boy”.

“He’s a loss to so many people. And his girlfriend also – it’s just devastating. And our heart goes out to the whole of her family,” Chief Insp Fowler said. “We are just crushed.”