Missing Raleigh man who drove to Hoke County is found dead in woods: Deputies

RAEFORD, N.C. (WNCN) — Deputies said a Raleigh man who was reported missing in Hoke County on Thursday was found dead on Friday near the area where he was last seen on Thursday.

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Wesley Purcell, 35, drove a gray GMC Sierra SUV from Raleigh into Hoke County, a Hoke County Sheriff’s Office news release said on Thursday.

Deputies on Thursday asked for the public’s help to find Purcell after he was last seen in the North Hilltop Road/North Duffie Road area in far southwest Hoke County near Scotland County.

Authorities did not say when Purcell was last seen or when he drove down from Raleigh.

On Friday, law enforcement agencies visited the area of North Hilltop Road/North Duffie Road.

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“During the search in the woods, Wesley Purcell was located and pronounced deceased on scene,” the news release said.

The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, and the Clinton Department of Public Safety were involved in the search on Friday.

“The investigation is still ongoing and is being investigated by the Hoke County Criminal Investigation Division,” the Friday news release said.

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