HAMILTON

An Ancaster man who went missing since last week was targeted by a group of men and murdered, Hamilton Police say.

Tim Bosma, 32, disappeared after taking two men out to test drive his pickup truck May 6. Police confirmed Tuesday his body was found burned beyond recognition at an undisclosed location in Waterloo.

Det.-Sgt. Matt Kavanaugh said investigators believe Bosma was targeted but would not discuss a motive.

"Police are concentrating their efforts to identify the other suspects involved in this murder investigation," Kavanaugh told a packed press conference.

Kavanaugh said Dellen Millard, the 27-year-old suspect already charged with forcible confinement and theft over $5,000 in connection to Bosma's disappearance, will be charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.

He said Bosma and the two men who went out with him for the test drive were followed by another vehicle when they left his Ancaster home Monday night.

Investigators say they believe three people were involved in the murder.

Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire delivered the grisly news of Bosma's death Tuesday morning.

"We are convinced by the totality of the evidence that these are the remains of Tim Bosma," De Caire said. "The evidence indicates that the remains were burned."

The discovery has dashed the hopes of Bosma's tight-knit family and a massive online following of friends and complete strangers who banded together to find the husband and father of a two-year-old girl.

"Our heartfelt condolences go to Sharlene and the entire Bosma family and friends as they mourn this loss personally," De Caire said. "Our community also mourns with you."

Kavanaugh, meanwhile, said 120 officers and investigators from Hamilton, Waterloo, York, Halton and Toronto police services, along with the OPP, are working on the case. Officers were searching two properties in Waterloo and three vehicles in Hamilton, he said.

Kavanaugh said he believes Bosma was murdered at some point on May 6. Security footage obtained by detectives appears to show an "SUV-like vehicle" following Bosma's truck that night while he was on the test drive.

Kavanaugh said Bosma had no connection to Millard and no criminal record. The image emerging of Bosma since his disappearance -- that of a devoted family man and devout Christian -- is true, he said.

"The picture being painted of Mr. Bosma is what we found in our investigation," he said.

Police asked the public to continue to come forward with tips that may lead them to suspects.

"These people talk," he said. "They talk to other people and we need those people to call the tip line and supply information to identify the other people involved in this crime."

Meanwhile, at the Bosma home in rural Ancaster, family members could be seen walking in the yard and in the fields behind the home, stopping to share an embrace and to wipe away tears.

Peter Lowe, a friend of the family, offered a brief statement, asking for privacy while the family mourns.

"We'd like to thank everyone for their support over the last week," he said.

"It's a tough day, a tough day."

The Bosma's neighbour Isabelle Brymer said she is devastated by Tim's death. Her thoughts have now turned to his wife, Sharlene, and their young daughter, she said.

"It's unbelievable," she said. "I would hate to face that. It's just such a loss."