Edmonton police say 25-year-old Daniel Louis Thomas is the city's fifth homicide victim of the year.

Police reveal Thomas lived at an inner city shelter and was last seen there early Sunday morning.

His body was found around 2 a.m. Monday on a set of wooden stairs leading up from the River Valley. The stairs are located just east of McDougall Hill on Connors Road and lead up to the Hotel MacDonald.

 Police are saying there has been evidence of trauma to the body, enough for them to rule the death a homicide.

"We have called out to a civilian search team to assist with searching the brush area around the hill for a weapon," said Det. Bill Clark, with Edmonton police's homicide section.

Police say city maintenance crews out early in the morning did not witness an altercation, but did spot a man fleeing the scene.

Investigators say the suspect is described as an Aboriginal native male, 14-20 years of age, has short dark hair, a thin moustache and was wearing dark clothing.

Detectives are looking to establish a timeline for the last 20 hours of the man's life. They would like to find out where he may have gone or who he may have been with prior to his death.

The exact cause of death has not been determined.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious overnight to contact them (780) 423-4567.

With files from David Ewasuk