Westminster police said Thursday that the man found in a pond at the Golf Course at Hyland Hills on Wednesday was a theft and forgery suspect whom officers followed onto the course after a car chase this month.

Police identified the dead man as Jess Michael Secrest, 26.

On March 13, police tried to arrest Secrest on three felony and two misdemeanor warrants.

A chase ended when Secrest lost control of his Chevrolet Monte Carlo on a curve in City Center Drive near the golf course. Officers pursued him on foot onto the 18-hole course but were unable to find him.

A police dog tracked the suspect to the pond, but a thermal imaging device failed to detect the body during a three-hour search, police said. Instead, groundskeepers discovered the body Wednesday after it floated to the surface.

Preliminary autopsy results ruled that hypothermia and/or drowning were the possible causes of death.