A suspect who led a Fayette

County sheriff's deputy on a brief chase late Wednesday morning is

still at large, although officials believe they have positively identified

the man.

The chase began on Helmer Road

in north Fayette near the Clayton County line after the deputy noticed

the license plate "hanging off" of a 1977 Buick, said Sgt. Belinda

McCastle of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. A check of the

tag revealed that it had been stolen from a 2002 Cadillac Escalade in

DeKalb County, she added.

The deputy tried to pull the

suspect over, but the suspect refused to stop and ran through the red

light at Helmer Road and Ga. Highway 85, McCastle said.

The chase then entered Clayton,

with the suspect turning onto Flint River Road and then into a residential

area, McCastle said. The suspect drove the car into a yard of a dead-end

street when it stopped after striking a tree, she added.

The suspect then took off on

foot, and the deputy lost sight of the suspect as he ran into a wooded

area, McCastle said.

Hawk 1, the sheriff's

department's helicopter, responded to the scene to assist deputies

and detectives with the search. Clayton County officers also assisted

in the search.