The brutal murder of a mining company geologist in west Africa has left a lot of people heartbroken in Nova Scotia.

Kirk Woodman, a Halifax-area man who was abducted from a mining site in Burkina Faso on Tuesday, was found dead Wednesday evening. Locals reported that he had been shot to death.

Michael Lachance is a friend of Woodman’s and they play pick-up hockey together.

“It's still sad,” Lachance said. “It's surreal. It doesn't feel like this has happened. It's like I'm in a dream and I'm pinching myself.”

Thursday-night pick-up hockey will never be the same for Lachance, who says he was stunned when he learned the news.

He's spent a lot of time simply remembering.

“Very, very gentle, easy-going,” Lachance said. “[He] always had a smile on his face. He was very nice man.”

The mining geologist had returned to west Africa recently -- a place he had visited dozens of times in the past.

Acadia University professor Sandra Barr said in an email late Wednesday that Woodman was quite well-known among geologists in Nova Scotia and had worked in Africa for decades.

"He was very passionate about the work that he was doing there," she said.

“There are a lot of Canadians there for the mining industry,” said Robert Huish, an International Development Studies professor at Dalhousie University.

It’s unstable, experts say, and Burkina Faso has trouble protecting even its own citizens from dangerous neighbours.

“Where you have extractive industries, such as mines, they usually come with very hostile and dangerous surroundings,” Huish said. “Unfortunately, Burkina Faso is one of those cases.”

West Africa's Sahel region has seen a number of abductions of foreigners in recent years by extremists linked to al-Qaida or the Islamic State organization.

The Canadian government has previously issued strong warnings for Canadians to avoid travelling to large parts of Burkina Faso due to the abductions.

Burkina Faso recently declared a state of emergency in the region as attacks by Islamic extremists increased, especially along the border with Niger and Mali.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland released a statement Thursday, saying Canada is “appalled and deeply saddened” by Woodman’s death.

“Canada condemns those responsible for this terrible crime. We are working with the government of Burkina Faso and other international partners to pursue those responsible and bring them to justice. The government’s priority is the safety and security of Canadians,” the statement reads.

In a statement, the company Woodman worked for, Vancouver-based Progress Mineral Mining Company, said: "Kirk was an incredibly accomplished and highly respected geologist with a career spanning over 30 years, with 20 years spent in west Africa. Out of respect for the privacy of the family, we will not make additional comments surrounding the circumstances of his death.”

Jean Paul Badoum, an official with Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Security, said Wednesday that Woodman had been kidnapped by armed gunmen from a mining camp in the northern part of the country.

Badoum said Thursday that Woodman was found dead late Wednesday in Oudalan province.

There is shock, too, in Woodman's quiet neighbourhood in Middle Sackville, N.S., where friend and neighbour Gary Cross tries to walk off some his grief.

“He was a good friend to us,” Cross said. “His kids and his wife and his family were the most important thing to him, and, you know, he was a very good friend to the neighbourhood. We'll miss him dearly.”

Woodman’s family put out this statement on Thursday: “Kirk was a loving and hard-working husband, father, son and brother. Not a day will go by that he won't be missed. Our family would like to thank everyone for the love and support we've received, but we ask for privacy while we grieve during this difficult time.”

Woodman's body was being airlifted to the capital of Burkina Faso. Then the remains will be brought back to Canada as the Woodman family plans his funeral.

Woodman's son, Matt, worked as a reporter and anchor at CTV Atlantic in Halifax before moving to Edmonton, where he now lives and works for CTV.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko and The Canadian Press.