NATCHEZ — It was an apparent domestic dispute that led to the fatal stabbing of a Natchez man Wednesday night.

Akeem Firley, 24, 212B Cloverdale Road, died after receiving a stab wound to his upper chest near his neck.

The suspect in the matter, Jessie Mae Tolbert, 34, of 25 Pintard St., was last seen walking into the woods near Providence Road.

The preliminary evidence police have been able to gather points to domestic violence, Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins said.

“The victim and the suspect have had a dating relationship for at least several weeks,” he said.

A man and a woman transported Firley to the Natchez Regional Medical Center, where the hospital notified police, and Firley was later pronounced dead.

The stabbing — which happened on Government Fleet Road — reportedly occurred in the presence of the two people who transported Firley to the hospital, Mullins said.

“We are currently getting statements from them,” he said.

The vehicle the victim was transported in reportedly contained almost a pound of marijuana, and Mullins said Firley had some crack cocaine and a digital scale in his pockets.

Tolbert reportedly has a criminal past, and in May she was arrested for leading police in a chase that began in Ferriday and ended on Government Fleet Road in Natchez.

The search for Tolbert is ongoing.