By Robert Salonga

SAN JOSE — An employee of a Cambrian-area motorbike shop who was reported missing Friday is now presumed dead after police located a likely crime scene nearby — and they’re searching for his body after arresting the man suspected of killing him, authorities and sources say.

The victim, 28-year-old Kyle Myrick of San Jose, was reported missing early Friday, and the Japanese-motorcycle shop GP Sports at Camden and Union avenues was his last known location, according to San Jose police. Officers were initially called to the site to perform a welfare check and were told that Myrick had been “missing for a few hours, under suspicious circumstances.”

A source familiar with the investigation told this newspaper that officers inspected an adjacent building associated with the business and discovered what appeared to be a crime scene, and then summoned homicide detectives. The source did not detail what police found there.

An ensuing investigation that included a neighborhood canvass revealed that police were likely dealing with a homicide, and detectives identified 39-year-old Steve Douglas Hlebo as a suspect. He was located Saturday in Los Altos, where he lives, and, according to police, was arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of murder.

A motive for the homicide was not released by police. When shop employees were asked by a reporter about the investigation Saturday, they acknowledged only that someone was missing and declined to comment further.

On Sunday, family, friends and neighbors combed areas including Lexington Reservoir for signs of Myrick. in a search partly coordinated via Facebook. Also on Sunday, two bundles of flowers had been left outside the boarded-up Camden Avenue retail building, presumably the location of the crime scene investigated by police.

Police recovered Hlebo’s white 2003 GMC Sierra 1500 pickup truck and believe it may have been used in the alleged crime. Investigators ask anyone who saw the truck between 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday to call them.

The homicide is San Jose’s third of the year. Anyone with information about the case can contact detective Sgt. Paul Hamblin or detective Jason Tanner at 408-277-5283, or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP (7867) or with svcrimestoppers.org.

Reporter Sharon Noguchi contributed to this report. Contact Robert Salonga at 408-920-5002. Follow him at Twitter.com/robertsalonga.