Police ID body discovered in Uxbridge as 32-year-old man reported missing in Toronto

Durham Regional Police say forensic pathologists confirmed the identity of a dead body found in Uxbridge, Ont. last week belongs to a man who had gone missing in Toronto last year.

It was on May 10 at around 2:40 p.m. when officers were called to Uxbridge Concession Road 6 and Allbright Road after a resident discovered the remains.

Police said the owner of a rural property found a hockey bag floating in a pond, retrieved it and opened it to find a body. That’s when the owner called police to report it.

“The bag contained the body of the deceased,” police said,

The body was sent to the Ontario Forensic Pathology Services for a post-mortem examination where they identified the victim as 32-year-old Ariel Kaplan.

Police did not release the exact cause of death or how long Kaplan had been deceased for.

Kaplan was reported missing to the Toronto Police Service in September 2021.

At the time, police said Kaplan was last seen on Aug. 29 in the Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue area.

He had lived in an apartment in Richmond Hill, police said.

Police also said it is believed that his body was disposed of in the Uxbridge area around the fall of 2021. Some witnesses reported seeing a hockey bag in the water as early as November 2021 but did not think anything of it or report it to police.

It is unclear exactly how long Kaplan has been deceased but police said likely shortly after he went missing last fall.

Investigators said they are looking to speak to anyone who saw or spoke to Kaplan before he disappeared last year.

A tip line has been set up and anyone with information can call 1-888-579-1520 ext. 5444 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

Durham Police said they are working with Toronto Police on the investigation. As well, York Regional Police assisted in the extensive ground and water search.