A Canadian man killed in Peru has been identified by the Peruvian government as a Comox Valley resident.

While Global Affairs Canada has not confirmed the individual, the Peruvian Interior Ministry has identified the individual as Sebastian Paul Woodroffe, a Cumberland resident.

The 41-year-old travelled to Peru to study hallucinogenic medicine was killed by a mob in a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest after people blamed him for the slaying of an elderly shaman, authorities said Sunday.

Peru91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s attorney general91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s office said Woodroffe was dragged by the neck shortly after the killing of Olivia Arevalo, an octogenarian plant healer from the Shipibo-Konibo tribe of northeastern Peru. Officials backed away from initial reports that Woodroffe was the principal suspect in Arevalo91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s killing.

Arevalo and Woodroffe were both killed Thursday in the Indigenous community of Victoria Gracia, officials said. But police did not begin to investigate until a cellphone video appeared in local media showing a man purported to be Woodroffe begging for mercy while being dragged between thatch-roofed homes. He was then left motionless on the muddy ground.

On Saturday, officials dug up Woodroffe91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s body from an unmarked grave where he had been hastily buried.

Arevalo was a staunch defender of Indigenous people91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s rights in the region. She also practised a traditional form of singing medicine that the Shipibo believe removes negative energies from individuals and a group alike.

Friends of Woodroffe have posted messages of condolences on social media pages, and Woodroffe91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s Facebook profile has changed to 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ˜Remembering Sebastian Woodroffe.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™

- With files from Canadian Press