Police across the country are being urged to watch for a car at the centre of a homicide investigation in Halifax.

Halifax Regional Police have been looking for Trevor Brewster's black Honda Civic since his body was found near a lake last Wednesday.

Police across Canada are being asked to look for a Honda Civic like this one.
(Halifax Regional Police)

Police said Monday that officers saw the car shortly after Brewster was last seen alive, but didn't stop it.

Brewster, 45, from Cole Harbour, N.S., was seen the night of May 7 driving away from his job at the Steak and Stein restaurant in Halifax.

Hours later, RCMP in Cole Harbour spotted his Honda Civic and recorded the licence plate for a minor traffic violation.

"They did check at the residence later that day to see if the vehicle had returned," RCMP Cpl. Joe Taplin told CBC News.

Brewster was reported missing that same day.

The next afternoon, a man collecting cans discovered Brewster's body under a boardwalk at the edge of Frenchman Lake in Dartmouth.

Taplin said there is no way to know whether Brewster was alive when police spotted the car, or whether his killer might have been driving the vehicle.

"They wouldn't have known until it came back the next couple of days about the vehicle," he said.

Trevor Brewster's car had a bear decal at the back.
(Halifax Regional Police)

Taplin said investigators believe the black, two-door Honda Civic is no longer in Nova Scotia.

Police have notified police departments across the country to be on the lookout for the car — licence plate DYS 031 — which has a rainbow-striped teddy bear at the back above the tail light.

Brewster's death has been linked with the killing of Michael Knott, whose body was found in a wooded area near Hubbards, N.S., on May 5.

Like Brewster, Knott, 44, of Timberlea, was gay.

Investigators say there are similarities in the two deaths, though they couldn't say whether the men's sexual orientation was a factor.

In a rare move Friday, Halifax police and the RCMP issued a public warning about cruising areas, urging members of the gay community to be careful.

Knott's car was recovered near the Halifax airport two days after his body was found.