Two women may have helped Ryan Jenkins hide after model was killed, sources say [Updated]
Authorities believe that two women may have helped the reality TV contestant accused of killing model Jasmine Fiore escape into Canada, sources told The Times.
Investigators said they are looking at whether one unidentified woman aided Ryan Jenkins when he was hiding in Washington state and a second woman helped him in British Columbia, including checking him into a motel where he was found hanged Sunday night.
The sources, who spoke on condition that they not be named because it was an ongoing investigation, said it remained unclear if the women would be charged with aiding and abetting Jenkins.
Jenkins was the subject of an international manhunt after police found Fiore's mutilated body Aug. 15 in a trash bin in Buena Park.
The sources said they believe Jenkins got help when he managed to evade the U.S. Coast Guard during a boat chase around Blaine, Wash. Authorities tracked Jenkins to a marina there and came upon his car and an empty boat trailer.
The engine of the car was still warm and the Coast Guard was alerted. A Coast Guard cutter came upon a speedboat several miles off the coast that was believed be Jenkins'. Coast Guard officials aimed their lights at the speedboat and began approaching.
The boat then fled into Canadian waters, sources said. Authorities there were notified and chased it with a helicopter and a boat, but the speedboat crossed back into U.S. waters.
Officials said Jenkins took the boat to another marina in the area, then walked into Canada.
The next day, officials said a woman checked Jenkins into the British Columbia motel.
Police allege that Fiore was killed by Jenkins, her former husband and a contestant on the reality TV shows "Megan Wants a Millionaire" and the third season of "I Love Money."
Fiore, 28, was last seen Aug. 13 when she and Jenkins went to an upscale Del Mar hotel together. Jenkins checked out of the hotel the next morning, apparently alone, according to Orange County prosecutors.
The next day, the Canadian national called authorities to report Fiore missing, and within hours the body of a woman was found stuffed in a suitcase in a trash bin behind an apartment building.
Authorities said Fiore's teeth had been pulled out and her fingers cut off. Fiore was identified through a serial number on her breast implants, the Orange County district attorney's office said.
On Wednesday, Fiore's missing Mercedes-Benz was found in the parking lot adjacent to a West Hollywood Trader Joe's.
[Updated at 11:55 a.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said the car was found in the Trader Joe's parking lot.]
--Andrew Blankstein
Photos: The Thunderbird Motel, top, where police believe Ryan Jenkins, middle, got help checking in from one of the two women being sought by authorities. Jenkins was found hanged in the motel Sunday night. Credits: Darryl Dyck /Canadian Press (motel); Associated Press (Jenkins)
Two women may have helped Ryan Jenkins hide after model was killed, sources say [Updated]