Canadian officials join hunt for Calgary native charged after mutilated body of ex-wife foundCalifornia prosecutors have charged a former reality-TV contestant with the murder of his ex-wife, whose body was found mutilated and stuffed naked into a suitcase, and Canadian authorities are searching for him after signs he may have illegally slipped north across the border.
One count of murder with malice aforethought was filed against 32-year-old Ryan Jenkins yesterday in the death of former model Jasmine Fiore, 28.
Police in Buena Park, Calif., revealed Fiore's teeth and fingers were removed before her body was found in a trash bin last weekend.
Chief Insp. Thomas Hession of the local U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force said at a news conference yesterday that officers would not rest until Jenkins is arrested.
"There will be no stone left unturned. We will look under every rock for him," he said.
"He needs to understand that he's now officially wanted – that we don't stop looking for him."
Fiore's family members sobbed and hugged each other as police revealed the gruesome details of her death.
Border officials and police agencies across Canada were on the lookout for Jenkins after U.S. officials suggested he likely fled more than 1,600 kilometres from southern California to sneak across the border.
Federal Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said reports that Jenkins had crossed the border were unconfirmed, but police were watching for him.
"The Canadian Border Services Agency does work very closely with law enforcement partners both here in Canada and across the border (and) they are well aware of the particular case," he said.
"I know that at a local level here and at a provincial level across Canada, police forces are on the lookout with the potential that he might be in this country."
Jenkins was a contestant on the VH1 reality-TV show Megan Wants a Millionaire before marrying Fiore. Her death, followed by his disappearance, has sparked a media frenzy, with gossip website TMZ.com publishing a saccharine love note allegedly between the couple and minute-by-minute updates of the investigation.
Buena Park's police chief, Tom Monson, said police received word Wednesday that Jenkins could have made his way to Canada. His car and an empty boat trailer were found at a marina in Blaine, Wash., south of Vancouver.
A boat belonging to Jenkins was found at Point Roberts, U.S. territory just south of Vancouver that is at the tip of a peninsula and can only be reached by land from Canada, said Monson.
"It is now our belief that he has crossed the border on foot," he said. "We are currently working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in our attempts to locate him."
Police warned that Jenkins may be armed with a handgun and should be considered dangerous.
Vancouver radio station CKNW reported that Jenkins's mother lives in Vancouver. Quoting a family friend, the station reported she went to meet her son in Seattle on Wednesday, saying it was a family emergency.
The station also reported that Jenkins's mother refused to comment yesterday.
Fiore was last seen alive with Jenkins at a poker game in San Diego. Jenkins cut off contact with police after reporting her missing Saturday night to the Los Angeles County sheriff's department. It's still not clear how she died, although a preliminary coroner's report indicated she was strangled.
Fiore's mother has said that in March, after taping for the VH1 series finished, Jenkins met Fiore in a Las Vegas casino and the two were married soon after. But Lisa Lepore said "they had a big blowout" in May and Fiore had the marriage annulled.
Court records show Jenkins was charged in June in Clark County, Nev., with a misdemeanour count of "battery constituting domestic violence" on accusations that he hit Fiore in the arm. He is scheduled for a Dec. 18 non-jury trial.
Jenkins, variously described as an architect, real estate developer and investment banker, appeared in three episodes of the TV series about a woman seeking to land a wealthy bachelor by putting suitors through their paces, such as designing a marketing campaign for her pet chihuahua.
One count of murder with malice aforethought was filed against 32-year-old Ryan Jenkins yesterday in the death of former model Jasmine Fiore, 28.
Police in Buena Park, Calif., revealed Fiore's teeth and fingers were removed before her body was found in a trash bin last weekend.
Chief Insp. Thomas Hession of the local U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force said at a news conference yesterday that officers would not rest until Jenkins is arrested.
"There will be no stone left unturned. We will look under every rock for him," he said.
"He needs to understand that he's now officially wanted – that we don't stop looking for him."
Fiore's family members sobbed and hugged each other as police revealed the gruesome details of her death.
Border officials and police agencies across Canada were on the lookout for Jenkins after U.S. officials suggested he likely fled more than 1,600 kilometres from southern California to sneak across the border.
Federal Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said reports that Jenkins had crossed the border were unconfirmed, but police were watching for him.
"The Canadian Border Services Agency does work very closely with law enforcement partners both here in Canada and across the border (and) they are well aware of the particular case," he said.
"I know that at a local level here and at a provincial level across Canada, police forces are on the lookout with the potential that he might be in this country."
Jenkins was a contestant on the VH1 reality-TV show Megan Wants a Millionaire before marrying Fiore. Her death, followed by his disappearance, has sparked a media frenzy, with gossip website TMZ.com publishing a saccharine love note allegedly between the couple and minute-by-minute updates of the investigation.
Buena Park's police chief, Tom Monson, said police received word Wednesday that Jenkins could have made his way to Canada. His car and an empty boat trailer were found at a marina in Blaine, Wash., south of Vancouver.
A boat belonging to Jenkins was found at Point Roberts, U.S. territory just south of Vancouver that is at the tip of a peninsula and can only be reached by land from Canada, said Monson.
"It is now our belief that he has crossed the border on foot," he said. "We are currently working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in our attempts to locate him."
Police warned that Jenkins may be armed with a handgun and should be considered dangerous.
Vancouver radio station CKNW reported that Jenkins's mother lives in Vancouver. Quoting a family friend, the station reported she went to meet her son in Seattle on Wednesday, saying it was a family emergency.
The station also reported that Jenkins's mother refused to comment yesterday.
Fiore was last seen alive with Jenkins at a poker game in San Diego. Jenkins cut off contact with police after reporting her missing Saturday night to the Los Angeles County sheriff's department. It's still not clear how she died, although a preliminary coroner's report indicated she was strangled.
Fiore's mother has said that in March, after taping for the VH1 series finished, Jenkins met Fiore in a Las Vegas casino and the two were married soon after. But Lisa Lepore said "they had a big blowout" in May and Fiore had the marriage annulled.
Court records show Jenkins was charged in June in Clark County, Nev., with a misdemeanour count of "battery constituting domestic violence" on accusations that he hit Fiore in the arm. He is scheduled for a Dec. 18 non-jury trial.
Jenkins, variously described as an architect, real estate developer and investment banker, appeared in three episodes of the TV series about a woman seeking to land a wealthy bachelor by putting suitors through their paces, such as designing a marketing campaign for her pet chihuahua.
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