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UPDATED: Missing Beale Airman Found Dead Identified

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE (CBS13) – An airman stationed at Beale Air Force Base missing since Tuesday night was found dead Friday afternoon in his vehicle in a rural area of Yuba County.

Ayaz "Neil" Ali, 41, was found in his crashed vehicle off Highway 20 between Smartsville and Penn Valley.

He was assigned to Beale Air Force Base since June 2012, as part of the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

A search party from the Nevada County Sheriff's Department, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the California Highway Patrol has been looking for the airman since he was reported missing.

Beale Air Force Base said it will continue to work with local and regional law enforcement agencies to identify the cause of death but a Nevada County sheriff's caption told The Union newspaper of Grass Valley that the death appeared to be self-inflicted.

The newspaper identified the man as Ali, but it was not confirmed by the air force until Sunday.

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