Police are to exhume the body of a 21-year-old man a decade after he was found lifeless in a canal to investigate whether his death was a criminal act.

Daniël van Vliet’s body was found lying in a reed bank in Zierikzee in August 2015, four days after he had been reported missing.

Police initially treated the 21-year-old’s death as non-suspicious, despite his family voicing concerns, but reopened the investigation earlier this year after receiving new information.

Zeeland police decided to disinter his body after interviewing several witnesses, but would not disclose what kind of information they had received.

“The information is so important that we have decided, in consultation with the prosecution service, to carry out further inquiries into the facts and circumstances of Daniel’s death,” police said in a statement.

Daniël was last seen in the Troubadour café in the centre of Zierikzee, which has since closed, on August 3 2015, the day before he was reported missing. A fair was being held on Havenplein between August 1 and 6, police said.

A spokesman acknowledged that the decision would have an impact on the man’s family. “Obviously it’s not easy when someone who has been dead for some time is dug up, with all the memories that it stirs up. But they are glad that the truth is hopefully coming to light.”