Burned body and car still a mystery: police

Police have gone to unusual lengths trying to elicit information about a recent death in Langley, B.C., even towing a car destroyed by fire back to where it was found last Wednesday with a body burned inside it.

Police admitted it was a dramatic attempt to jar people's memory, or prompt someone who has information to come forward.

"As you look inside the vehicle, there's absolutely nothing left of this except metal," said RCMP Cpl. Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. "And to put a human body through that is just absolutely incredible and unacceptable, and we need people to be outraged and call the police."

The destruction of the car helped destroy evidence, leaving authorities with some crucial, unanswered questions.

The car was found parked on railway tracks, engulfed in flames. As the fire was doused, emergency crews discovered a body inside, but police still don't know who it is.

Two similar cases recently

They do know it's a man between 20 and 40 years old, about six feet tall, with a hoop earring in his right ear and a white porcelain crown on his upper-right front tooth.

"What we're asking is, if anyone out there has an idea of a friend or a family member they haven't spoken to the last few days that resembles this description, to give the IHIT tip line a phone call," said Carr.

Police are waiting for tests to determine if the victim was already dead before the car — a stolen, white 1982 Camaro — was set on fire.

This case is similar to two others the homicide team has had to deal with.

On July 16, the body of John William Hanna was found in a burning car in Burnaby. On Aug. 28, a charred car with the body of Bobby DiGeorgio inside was found in Abbotsford.

The IHIT tip line can be reached at 1-877-551-4448.