Edmonton police have arrested Michael White, 28, the husband of a pregnant Edmonton mother, and charged him with second-degree murder.

White has also been charged with committing an indignity to a dead body.

Police had been working around the clock trying to uncover the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of 29-year-old Liana White. She was four months pregnant and the mother of a two-year-old. She vanished without a trace and hasn't been seen since July 12.

Liana White
Liana White

White apparently left for work early Tuesday morning. Her SUV was found abandoned in a park about two kilometres from her house. The driver's door was open, her wallet, keys, cellphone and shoes were found scattered in and around the vehicle. There was no sign of violence, no sign of a struggle.

A body was found by a search team earlier on Sunday. Michael White was with the search team at the time the body was discovered.

Police have not confirmed whether the body is that of Liana White.

Michael White
Michael White

Late last week police said they were still working on discrepancies between when her husband says she left home, and when witnesses spotted her vehicle.

Marie Olah, who regularly cuts across the lot where the SUV was found to get to the YMCA for her morning workout, told CBC News she saw the vehicle with the door open before 6 a.m., while Michael White told police his wife left home for work at 6:15 a.m.

"They're saying that she had left the home at 6:15, well I saw that vehicle in the parking lot at 5:50 or approximately thereabouts," said Olah.

People who live in the same neighbourhood as the White family reacted with shock at the developments.

"I still can't believe that it's happened, and I can't, I just don't understand it. I just don't see how the involvement that's being implicated now really occurred. I can't see it being Mike, I can't and I don't believe it," said Barb Jama who lives across the street.

Neighbours say Michael White, a mechanic, helped fix up cars for people. They described him as outgoing and friendly. Jama said Liana White was quiet, but seemed happy.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday morning and Edmonton police say they will hold a news conference on Tuesday afternoon to give what details they have of the case.