Bloody Suitcase

Authorities on the hunt for a reality TV contestant charged with the grisly murder of his swimsuit model ex-wife were continuing to search the U.S.-Canadian border after the woman's relatives pleaded with his friends and family not to help "an animal" evade capture.

Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a Calgary, Alberta, native, was a contestant on the VH1 series "Megan Wants a Millionaire," about a woman seeking to land a wealthy bachelor.

Police said Thursday that Jenkins, 32, removed the teeth and fingers of 28-year-old Jasmine Fiore, presumably to impede authorities in their efforts to identify the naked body, which was found stuffed in a suitcase in a California trash bin over the weekend.

Fiore, a former swimsuit model, and Jenkins were briefly married after a quickie Las Vegas wedding this year, and had been fighting in recent months. Prosecutors said the two checked into a San Diego hotel last Thursday, and Jenkins checked out the next morning. Fiore was not seen alive again.

Sources told ABC news that Fiore had been playing poker with a group of friends at the Hilton Hotel and, "she was being very rude and kept putting Ryan down. It was really awkward."

Jenkins vanished after Fiore's body was found Saturday stuffed in a blood-stained suitcase and Buena Park police Lt. Steve Holliday said he's possibly armed with a handgun. A preliminary coroner's report indicated Fiore was strangled.

Prosecutors recommended a bail of $10 million for Jenkins upon arrest and said he had significant resources to finance his flight.

On the show, Jenkins was identified as an investment banker who had a couple million dollars.

Jenkins is believed to have driven 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) to Washington state and then hopped in a boat to a peninsula on the border, where he walked into Canadian territory. A Canadian police official said ground, air and canine units are involved in the search for Jenkins.

A car and empty boat trailer belonging to Jenkins were found at a marina in the remote northwest Washington town of Blaine.