Gainesville Police are investigating after a man fled from a traffic stop and officers found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Cpl. Kevin Holbrook said.

Officers stopped Joshua Semon, 24, of Gainesville, at Americas Best Value Inn in the 800 block of Jesse Jewell Parkway. The officers were on routine patrol, Holbrook said, but he did not say why Semon was stopped.

Holbrook said Semon ran from the traffic stop and officers chased after him into the woods.

Officers lost him but then heard gunfire. They retreated and formed a perimeter, Holbrook said.

They used forward-looking infrared systems to locate him again in the dark, dense wooded area.

Semon was dead when officers found him. Holbrook said Semon had illegal drugs on him at the time.