Mexico Police Find Missing Canadian Businessman's Car; Body in Trunk

CHILPANCINGO, Mexico -- A missing Canadian businessman's rental car was found completely burned with a corpse in the trunk on Sunday, police in southern Mexico reported.

Investigators are working to determine if it is the body of Daniel Dion, who was last seen about a week ago in the Pacific coast resort city of Acapulco.

One of the vehicle's license plates was not burned in the fire, which allowed police to identify it as Dion's white Jetta, according to Guerrero state Investigative Police director Fernando Monreal.

The car was discovered on a road in Zumpango del Rio, just north of the state capital of Chilpancingo. The town is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Acapulco, also in Guerrero state.

Mexican authorities say Dion has worked in Acapulco for several years with a company that employs inmates making bags from recycled materials.

He is reportedly from the Ottawa area, though Canadian officials previously declined to confirm the missing man's name or hometown.

Phone calls to the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City rang unanswered Sunday.

While Acapulco remains a popular getaway for Mexico City residents and foreign tourists, it has been hit by drug-gang violence in recent years.

Fighting between two rival factions of the crumbling Beltran Leyva drug cartel has resulted in shootouts and deaths, and Mayor Jose Luis Avila Sanchez recently warned people to stay indoors after dark -- an extraordinary pronouncement for a city whose economy depends deeply on nightclubs, restaurants and bars.