MAXTON — The body found Monday night in woods off Alma Road has been identified as Braxton Chavis Jr.
The investigation, which will include an autopsy to determine the cause of death, is ongoing, according to a statement from the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies found the body after the Sheriff’s Office received a call Monday from Braxton Dewayne Chavis, who told the 911 dispatcher he believed his father had been kidnapped.
Investigators went to 343 Chav-An Drive, where they found information shortly before midnight that led them to the discovery of Braxton Chavis Jr.’s body, less than one mile from his home, which is where the investigation began.
Chavis’ aunt, who asked not to be named, said she was in Greenville when she learned her brother, whom she said was 55 years old, was found dead near his home.
“There are 11 of us and he is the first (to die),” she said. “Natural causes we could accept, but nothing like this.”
She said she last saw her brother on Friday when all 11 siblings gathered for an early Christmas dinner.
“We didn’t think it would be the last time we’d be together,” she said.
Family and friends still are coming to grips with what happened.
“It is a shock. The community is shocked,” she said.
Theodore Brooks, who has lived on Alma Road for three years, said he saw a heavy police presence on Monday night.
“When I came to check the mail yesterday, I saw police lights,” he said. “They were over there.”
This is not the first time a body has been discovered near the pond off Alma Road, he said.
“I’ve been here for three years,” Brooks said. “That is the fourth body found there.”
He said he had heard the body was found wrapped in carpet.
Chavis’ Facebook page said he was a graduate of Prospect High School and was self-employed.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at 910-671-3100 or Sgt. Brandon Patterson at 910-737-5097.
