A fugitive is dead following a pursuit that began after police said the inmate overpowered an Ackerman police officer and stole her cruiser at gunpoint, the Choctaw County Coroner said.

Bobby Fair, 27, escaped from the courthouse in Ackerman at about 3:30 p.m., police said. Ackerman Mayor Dick Cain told WTVA-TV that the inmate took a gun from a female officer and forced her to unlock his chains. He then stole an Ackerman police car at gunpoint and drove off, police said.

The car was a white Ford Crown Victoria with police lights on top and a pushbar bumper on the front, police said. A shotgun was also in the vehicle, the mayor told WTVA.

Fair was found about 8 p.m. on the Natchez Trace Parkway, north of French Camp. The Choctaw County coroner confirmed that Fair had died, but it was now known how he died.

His body is being sent to Jackson for an autopsy.

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is expected to release more details on Thursday.

Officials said Fair was in custody for two counts of armed robbery.