Man found dead in woods was homicide victim: RCMP

The discovery of a man's body in the woods outside Dartmouth has turned into a homicide investigation.

Cpl. Joe Taplin confirmed Thursday the body is that of a man, but released no other details. He said an autopsy will be conducted either late Thursday or on Friday.

He said investigators are treating it as a homicide.

RCMP officers discovered the body late Wednesday afternoon about five metres from Upper Governor Road, near North Preston.

The area is about one kilometre away from where Sergei Kostin's burned taxi was found in January. The cab driver has been missing since Jan. 17, when he was sent to pick up passengers on Gaston Road in Dartmouth.

Cpl. Joe Taplin said officers searching for Kostin drove around the area where the body was found, but he didn't know if they were out on foot.

He said officers have been going back to the area since then.

"Once the weather started getting a little better, members wanted to get up in these areas and just do a better search and look," Taplin said Wednesday.

Last month, Kostin was added to Nova Scotia's list of cases eligible for a $150,000 cash reward for leads.

Police said Kostin's cellphone and bank account haven't been touched and he hasn't had any contact with relatives or friends.