Roanoke Rapids police confirmed Wednesday they found a car with a body inside at the bottom of the Roanoke River.
Authorities are working to identify the person's remains found in the water by U.S. Highway 158 in Weldon.
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"We're unable to determine who it is, whether it’s male [or] whether it’s female in the current condition and state that the body is in," said Roanoke Rapids Police Chief Bobby Martin.
The statement came hours after law enforcement sources told WRAL News that Keyon West was the man found dead.
"We’re going to rely on professionals for that so that we make sure we give proper factual information," Martin said.
West, 27, was reported missing last week in Roanoke Rapids. His brother said he was last seen Dec. 2.
The Toyota car that authorities pulled from the water near the Weldon Mills Distillery did not belong to West, according to Roanoke Rapids police. However, sources tell WRAL News the car is connected to the investigation into West’s disappearance.
WRAL News is working to learn if the death is being investigated as an accident or a homicide.
West’s friends spoke to WRAL News at the scene, saying they hope they can get closure from his body being recovered.
West was one of three men charged in a quadruple homicide in Enfield in 2017 but who later had their charges dropped after spending four years in jail. West reunited in February with his family.
"I'm glad that the truth came to the light that I'm an innocent man," West said in February. "It's messed up I had to go through this and be away from my family, but we made it."
Matthew Simms, one of those men, also died, but of a drug overdose shortly after he was released from jail.