TORONTO — A day after attending Toronto’s gay pride festivities last June, Andrew Kinsman, 49, a building superintendent with deep roots in the community, dropped out of sight, missing his volunteer food-bank shift and leaving his cat unfed.

Friends knew right away there had to be something wrong, and now, after months of anguished searching, the horrific answer to what happened to him has not only shaken the gay community, but has also widened its longstanding rift with the Toronto police.

Last week, the police said they had recovered the dismembered remains of six people, including Mr. Kinsman, from planters on a property where Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old landscaper, worked, and investigators were searching 30 other places across the city. Mr. McArthur has been charged with the murders of Mr. Kinsman and four other men, and police said additional charges were expected.