Body found in west Phoenix identified as missing 55-year-old man

Phoenix police announced that a missing 55-year-old man who was the subject of a SAFE Alert last week was found dead in west Phoenix.

When the alert was issued, Dean Emerson had last been seen in the area of 59th Avenue and Indian School Road on Thursday, July 9.

A police assistant was called to a group home around 2:25 p.m. on July 9 and was told by staff that Emerson had left approximately 20 minutes prior.

Later that day around 11:40 p.m., officers responded to the area of 67th Avenue and Indian School Road for reports of an unresponsive adult. The Phoenix Fire Department responded and pronounced the person dead.

On July 11, the Office of the Medical Examiner identified the deceased individual as Emerson. It was noted that there were no obvious signs of trauma and foul play is not suspected.

However, the Medical Examiner is still trying to determine Emerson’s cause of death.

SAFE Alerts have replaced Silver Alerts in Arizona as a way to spread the word about missing persons who are 65 and older and missing persons who have dementia or developmental or cognitive disabilities.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s David Iversen contributed to this report. 

This is an updated version of a story originally published on July 10, 2026. 

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