Drowning victim was fleeing from police

Police said divers recovered the body of Gabriel Lee Miles, 25, around 9:45 p.m. after searching for about five hours. Family members who cried and grieved at the scene said Miles was the father of a 2-year-old girl.

Two members of the Raleigh Police Department's Fugitive Task Force were trying to serve a warrant for armed robbery on Miles, said Jim Sughrue, a police spokesman.

The officers came to the 4700 block of Trademark Drive around 4:30 p.m. because they had information that Miles would be in the area.

Sughrue said officers and Miles spotted each other, and he ran before they could arrest him. Miles ran behind a business at 4721 Trademark Drive and entered Carolina Lake.

Officers said they called for Miles to return to shore, but he refused and swam further out into the lake. About halfway across, Miles appeared to be having difficulties and then slipped under the water.

Police called for assistance from EMS and fire units, and a dive team from the Angier Black River Fire Department also came quickly, according to Sughrue.

Officers set up a command center at the lake until Miles' body was recovered. His remains were taken to the Office of the State Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill.

Following standard procedure, Raleigh's Major Crimes Task Force has started an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Miles' drowning.

Carolina Lake is small, remote body of water in an industrial area around South New Hope and Poole roads.