Body of Alamance County Man Found in Chatham County Field

An agricultural worker discovered the body of William Calice Cooper III, 38, of Alamance County in a field near the 900 block of Moon Lindley Road in northwestern Chatham County on Wednesday, March 18. The Chatham County Sheriff's Office identified Cooper as the deceased and said investigators do not suspect foul play and that there is no threat to the community.

The discovery carried an unsettling backdrop: six days earlier, on Thursday, March 12, deputies had responded to the same general area after a caller reported a suspicious person. That individual fled on foot into a wooded area before deputies arrived. Deputies searched for approximately an hour but were unable to locate him. Based on the location and other factors, investigators now believe the person who fled on March 12 and the man found dead on March 18 are the same individual.

The Chatham County Sheriff's Office is working with the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death. No cause has been released. "There are no evident signs of foul play, and the death does not appear to be suspicious in nature," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement carried by the Chatham Journal.

The investigation remains ongoing.