Police in Yakutia, in northeastern Siberia, have apprehended a suspect in the murder of three-time world kickboxing champion Innokenty Makarov, the local Investigative Committee’s press service said on Thursday.

Axar.az reports citing TASS that, on November 17, investigators launched a criminal case over Makarov’s disappearance. The family reported that he went missing on November 13. The relatives said he did not return home and had not planned to leave Yakutsk.

"A citizen of the Oy Khangalassky district of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) born in 1981 has been detained, who gave evidence on the circumstances of the committed crime," the investigators said. On Thursday, the investigators brought murder charges against him.

Makarov’s body was found in a forest on the same day. Investigators have also identified a man, who helped the suspect to hide the athlete’s body, and a criminal case has been launched against him.