Residents of an East Vancouver neighbourhood are on edge after a young man was found murdered in the trunk of an abandoned car Thursday afternoon.

The blue Ponatiac Sunfire had been parked at Fairmont Street near Vanness Avenue for days and had a ticket on the windshield by the time the grim discovery was made at around 4 p.m.

On Friday, police confirmed the deceased's identity as 18-year-old Sachdeep Singh Dhoot, a Surrey resident who had been missing since Jan. 9. His death marks Vancouver's third homicide of 2018.

"Based on the information collected so far, this does not appear to be a random murder," Const. Jason Doucette said.

Doucette could not confirm whether the young man was known to police.

The Pontiac, which had been stolen, was previously sought in connection with Dhoot's disappearance.

The scene is just a few blocks away from Slocan Park and the 29th Avenue SkyTrain Station, a quiet area where residents told CTV News they were shocked to learn someone was found dead.

"I walk to the SkyTrain almost every day and I don't expect to run into a dead body," Johnny Chatron said. "It's scary."

Anyone with information on the murder is asked to call the Vancouver Police Department or Crime Stoppers.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Ben Miljure