Missing man, last seen in police chase, found dead

The family of Aubrey Dean, 27, of Lindbergh Street, reported him missing on Wednesday evening.

After a search with a cadaver dog, police found Dean's body near a creek in a woodsy area off Weaver Street late Friday afternoon.

Dean was last seen among a group of men that a caller told police were selling drugs out of a burgundy Chevrolet Caprice at an apartment complex in the 2500 block of South Roxboro Street around 8:20 p.m. Monday.

An identification check revealed that Dean was wanted for a violation of his parole for a January 2006 conviction for conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Police said Dean pulled away from officers who tried to arrest him and ran into the wooded area off Weaver Street. Officers brought in a police dog, but lost Dean's trail at a creek.

His body was found about a half-mile into that wooded area. It will be sent to the Office of the State Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

State Department of Correction records show that Dean also served a year in jail for that 2006 conviction. He got probation for a conviction on two common-law robbery charges stemming from the same incident on Jan. 8, 2004.

Dean was released from jail in March 2003 after serving 3 years and 7 months for conspiracy to commit armed robbery. He was also served five months for common-law robbery in 1998.