Police continue search for suspect after three found dead in Ontario's prime cottage country

Police were continuing a wide-scale search Monday for a man wanted in a murder investigation after three bodies were found at a fire-gutted home in the Muskoka region, one of Canada’s most popular summer destinations, three days earlier, a grisly discovery that led to a near four-hour shelter-in-place order for local residents.

Shortly after 8 p.m. Friday, Ontario Provincial Police responded to a report of shots fired at a home on Beatrice Town Line Road in Bracebridge, about 185 km north of Toronto.

When police arrived, one man was found dead outside and the residence in flames. On Saturday, police announced that two more bodies had been found inside the home, which was destroyed by fire.

A shelter-in-place advisory was posted on social media around 9:30 p.m. Friday. Police warned they were searching for a suspect in a fatal shooting and house fire. “Officers are responding to a potentially armed person in distress,” according to the alert posted to social media. “Please stay indoors in a secure location and/or avoid the area.”

The advisory was lifted at 1:45 a.m. Saturday, though people were advised to stay alert and report anything suspicious to police. “The individual previously considered armed and potentially dangerous has not been located, but is not believed to pose an immediate threat to public safety,” the OPP said.

Mitchell Gray, 29, of Bracebridge, is wanted for murder.

Many of the details of the shelter-in-place are part of the ongoing investigation, OPP Sgt. Joe Brisebois, of the OPP Central Region, said in an email to National Post.

However, Brisebois said the suspect and the victim found when police first arrived at the scene were known to each other. “The identity of the additional two deceased is pending the results of the post mortem, and that may take a number of weeks,” Brisebois said.

Investigators do not believe that there is any threat to public safety – but ask if anyone has additional information or knows the whereabout of Mitchell Gray, to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

According to MuskokaTODAY.com, Gray belongs to a family that has farmed in the tight-knit hamlet northwest of Bracebridge for generations.

“Everybody here is in shock,” one woman who took shelter in her basement told MuskokaTODAY’s Mark Clairmont . “They’re a lovely family. It’s pretty awful for them to deal with. Very sad.”

Police searched sheds and barns and canvassed the area, according to the report. Police helicopters were seen over farms Friday night.

Some people commented on social media that the shelter-in-place alert appeared to downplay potential risks. “Three people dead. Suspect on the run,” read one post on the Facebook. “No threat to the public?”

“I think there’s a whole lot more that has happened that (police) haven’t told us,” one neighbour who heard shots fired Friday night told MuskokaTODAY over the weekend. “That they can confidently say to us that he is not a threat to the public.

“We really, honestly, have no idea whether he’s dead or alive. I don’t know if he’s been captured and they haven’t released it yet. We literally have no idea.”

Police described Gray as a white male, five feet and eight inches, with light brown hair and facial hair.

When contacted Monday, Bracebridge Mayor Rick Maloney said he was not available for an interview. “We appreciate the efforts of all our emergency services who responded to this tragic incident, especially our OPP,” Maloney said in an email to National Post.

“Our hearts and thoughts are with the family of the victims,” Maloney wrote.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact them at 1-888-310-1122 or to call 911 in an emergency.

National Post

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