Philippine police said Saturday they had found the body of a missing retired Canadian missionary and arrested a family-of-three who owned the farm where the corpse was buried.
The decomposed remains, thought to be of Darcy Hans Rentenberg, 53, were sent for a post mortem examination to determine the cause of death, said Michael Codaste, a murder squad detective in the central city of Cebu.
Rentenberg's landlord reported him missing on July 5, 10 days after he left his flat in nearby Mandaue city on his motorbike and failed to return, Codaste said, reading from a police report.
"We have three suspects in custody," Codaste said, identifying them as Rentenberg's 46-year-old Filipino former assistant during his missionary work, the ex-aide's wife and their 17-year-old son.
Police looking for the missing Canadian visited the former aide's farm on the outskirts of Cebu on Thursday and found a concealed grave beneath a pig pen, Codaste said.
The family fled the property during the search but were arrested at a nearby village a few hours later, he said, adding that they were being held on suspicion of causing the Canadian's death and concealing his body.
Police said Rentenberg had been involved in missionary work in the Philippines from the 1980s and chose to live in the area at the end of his assignment. They said they did not have the name of his mission.
Canadian Foreign Affairs and International Trade ministry spokesman Alain Cacchione said: "The Canadian Embassy in Manila is in contact with the local police authorities to gather additional information."
"Due to the Privacy Act, no further information can be provided," he added.
The Canadian embassy in Manila was closed for the weekend
