The body pulled from the Rideau River Saturday is Muhab Sultanaly Sultan, a murder suspect wanted for the so-called iPhone murder in London, Ont., Ontario's Special Investigations Unit says.

Sultan, a 23-year-old Calgary man, was the suspect in the June 14 murder of Jeremy Cook, an 18-year-old college student found shot to death in London, Ont., who used an app to track down his lost iPhone.

The SIU confirmed Wednesday Sultan's body was pulled from the Rideau River, three days after he went into the water, then showed what Ottawa Police called "signs of distress."

Sultan would have faced a second-degree murder charge if he had been arrested, said London Police media officer Const. Amanda Corsaut.

The SIU took over the probe of Sultan's drowning Friday because he had contact with Ottawa Police the day he died. Two officers ventured into the Rideau River off Strathcona Park after he went into the river around 7 p.m. Earlier that day, police say he tried to run over two bike cops with his vehicle at a traffic stop near the intersection of King Edward Ave. and Rideau St.

That first encounter around 4 p.m., resulted in police chase through Sandy Hill ending when he abandoned his car on Wiggins Private and fled. Police apprehended a passenger who was in the vehicle. London Police said the passenger is not related to their investigation, Corsaut said.

London cops are still looking for a second suspect -- a black man with very short hair.

And they're trying to talk to a third person who was seen getting out of the car before the shooting incident.

On Saturday, at approximately 7:15 p.m., residents of the Range Rd. area called police to report a suspicious man in their neighbourhood. When they arrived, Sultan was already in the Rideau River, swimming away.

Two cops went into the water after him, but Sultan disappeared and was presumed drowned.

Ontario's SIU conducts independent investigations when people are injured or die during contact with police. The unit has now designated two Ottawa Police subject officers and nine witness officers.

Ottawa Police spent three days combing the river for his body. They found it Saturday afternoon.

The drawn-out police investigation has made the mourning period even more painful for Cook's family, one friend says. "It's the unknown," Maureen DiIorio told Postmedia Network Tuesday. "It won't be easy. It will never be easy. It will never be easy again."

Twitter: @Corey_Larocque