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A North Carolina woman and her Australian boyfriend who were shot dead on the side of a Canadian road could have been victims of a serial killer.

The bodies of 24-year-old Chynna Deese and her partner Lucas Fowler were discovered on the Alaska Highway in British Columbia on Monday.

Local police have now launched an investigation into the deaths.

The couple were travelling along a 450 mile stretch of road known as 'The Highway of Tears' at the time they disappeared.

Between 18 and 50 women have disappeared or have been murdered on the highway in the years since 1970, sparking fears among locals that the couple's deaths could have been the work of a serial killer.