TURTLEFORD, Sask. — RCMP say a man found dead in a rural area in western Saskatchewan was the victim of a homicide.

Officers were called Wednesday to the discovery of a body in the Rural Municipality of Frenchman Butte near St. Walburg.

The man has been identified as Braeden Alfred James Sparvier.

Police have not said how the 26-year-old was killed.

An autopsy was to be performed on Friday.

Mounties say a two-kilometre stretch of road in the area remains blocked off as their investigation continues.