The Lee County Sheriff's Office charged Jackie Lamar Bright with the murder of Michael Bradley Cox, who had been reported missing in December.
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The sheriff's office said deputies searched for two days across a heavily wooded area of Bright's property in the 1600 block of Farrell Road in Sanford and along neighboring land before finding a 55-gallon barrel filled with concrete and suspected human remains. The North Carolina Medical Examiner's Office removed the concrete and found the body, which it positively identified as that as Cox.
The sheriff's office said Bright has an "extensive criminal history" and was released from prison in May. He was on parole when he was taken into custody for unrelated charges in early January. Bright bonded out of jail and was arrested again Jan. 11 for multiple violations.
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Bright is in the custody of the North Carolina Department of Corrections.
The investigation is still ongoing and additional charges are expected, the sheriff's office said.