RCMP in Alberta say their major crimes unit is investigating the discovery of human remains inside a burned home on a First Nation east of Edmonton near the Saskatchewan boundary.
Police say their officers initially responded to the fire on Frog Lake First Nation on Nov. 26, and while the blaze was deemed an arson, the structure was considered unsafe to enter during the initial stages of the investigation.
Investigators later entered the home on Dec. 21 and found human remains.
Police say DNA testing identified the remains on April 6 as 44-year-old Phillip Wade Favel.
Favel was reported missing to RCMP on Nov. 30 after he was last seen at his home on Saddle Lake First Nation nine days earlier.
At the time of his disappearance, police said Favel was known to travel to Frog Lake, which is approximately 80 kilometres east of Saddle Lake.