After a Vancouver arrest, police have laid a second-degree murder charge in the death of a Winnipeg man whose body is believed to be in a city landfill site.

Police say they received a tip in the third week of July about a possible homicide in Winnipeg's west-central Wolseley neighbourhood.

Investigators believe Jacinto Eduardo Etcheverry, 46, was killed in an apartment and his body removed with trash some days later. Police would not comment on the circumstances of his death.

Officers have been searching for his body at the Brady Road landfill for several weeks.

"We do have a number of officers assigned [there] on a daily basis and, you know, it takes a lot of time," said police spokeswoman Const. Jacqueline Chaput. "They're searching a small area at a time and it's very time-consuming for our officers, but they're making sure that they're thorough."

Police identified a suspect, a 31-year-old man they believed had left Winnipeg in a vehicle stolen during a downtown armed robbery July 27.

The suspect was arrested in Vancouver on Wednesday after a high-speed chase involving a stolen vehicle, police said Thursday. The vehicle stolen in Winnipeg was also recovered in Vancouver.

The accused man is now in custody at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

"We don't have a body yet. However, in order for us to be able to lay this charge, obviously there has been some consultation with the Crown's office and they're satisfied there was sufficient evidence to go ahead with these charges," Chaput said.