Police are having a hard time identifying the body of a man found near Chestermere because it went through a high level of violence and is missing the head, Alberta RCMP said Friday.

A group of people off-roading in the area found the frozen remains in an irrigation canal near Chestermere, a town about 20 kilometres east of Calgary, on Monday afternoon. Police said it appeared the body was dumped there about a week before the discovery.

A group of people off-roading in the area found the human remains in an irrigation ditch near Chestermere.
(CBC)

There was physical damage to the back of the man's right hand, indicating there may have been a mark, scar or tattoo there, said police.

Investigators are not releasing a cause of death but RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb said said a "high level of physical violence was found on the remains of the victim." They're still looking for the man's head.

"Right now, there is so many things we don't know about this," Webb said on Friday. "We don't know the reason this person was killed. We don't know who did it. We don't know why this level of violence was used."

Based on an autopsy completed Thursday, investigators estimated the man's age from 25 to 55, but no possible missing individuals should be excluded.

They also said the victim was five feet nine inches tall and about 160 pounds with a medium skin tone. Investigators are rushing DNA analysis to determine the victim's race.

On Thursday, Webb said it was too early to say whether the body is that of Bradley Worobeck, 27, a missing Calgary bartender who was last seen after his night shift at a downtown restaurant on Jan. 17.