Police have identified the human remains found along the south banks of the Fraser River on Feb.16 as belonging to Vancouver resident Barry Hinchcliffe.
Hinchcliffe, 44, also owned property in Mission and was reported missing in September 2011.
According to court documents filed in B.C. Supreme Court, police suspect Hinchcliffe was involved in the drug trade.
He was last seen leaving his home in the 900 block of Expo Boulevard in Vancouverat about 7 p.m. on Sept. 20, 2011. He was headed to a rural property he owned in Mission on Sylvester Road.
He had plans to visit his daughter and former common-law spouse in Duncan that weekend, but didn't show up. He was reported missing by his family seven days later.
Police located his unoccupied grey 2009 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck at a Mission property, and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) took over the investigation on Oct. 1.
Hinchcliffe had several bank accounts and brokerage accounts which he has not accessed since Sept. 20, 2011. He was also the sole registered owner of a property in McConnell Creek located at 14708 Sylvester Rd, near Cascade Falls. The property value was estimated at $510,000 in 2012 when the Public Guardian and Trustee of B.C. petitioned the court in February 2012 to manage Hinchcliffe's estate.
A land title search shows Hinchcliffe was the registered owner of 14708 Sylvester Road from 2005-2012.
Neighbours in the area did not know Hinchcliffe. One nearby resident, who has lived on the Sylvester Road since 1976, said police had taken down a large marijuana grow operation a few of years ago on that property. Another neighbour observed some properties in the area are owned by absentee landlords.
Hinchcliffe's remains were found Feb. 16 by a citizen who was walking along the river in an area off Walters Street in Abbotsford.
IHIT spokesman Sgt. Adam MacIntosh said the case is still being investigated as a homicide.
Hinchcliffe's cause of death and other information are not being released at this time.
"We are fortunate to provide to a grieving family some closure with the remains of Barry being found but our ultimate goal is to solve this homicide," MacIntosh said.