Dan Mullan/Getty Images/File
Sergio Brown helps coach a team of local school children on July 15, 2015 in London, England.
CNN
—
Former NFL player Sergio Brown is missing and his mother was found dead Saturday near a creek in suburban Chicago, police said.
Brown’s family and his mother, Myrtle, alerted police after they said they were unable to locate or contact either of them, the Maywood Police Department said in a news release.
“Maywood Police officers initiated a missing person’s report and began attempting to locate both individuals,” the news release said.
Authorities searched a wide area and found Myrtle’s unresponsive body near a creek behind her home, according to the department.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined 73-year-old Myrtle died of multiple injuries related to the assault and the manner of death was homicide, according to records obtained CNN affiliate WBBM.
Sergio Brown, 35, played for Notre Dame before signing with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played seven seasons in the NFL as a member of the Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.
The investigation is ongoing and Maywood Police say anyone with information can contact the anonymous tip line at 708-450-1787.
Dennis Diaz, the lead investigator on the case, did not respond to CNN’s request for additional information.
CNN reached out to family members of Sergio and Myrtle Brown, but did not immediately hear back.
Video from WBBM showed police tape cordoning off a residential street in suburban Chicago as police responded.
“Myrtle, she was an outstanding woman and I hope she’s in the right place and with God,” Myrtle Brown’s neighbor Carlos Cortez told WBBM. “Like I said, I never in a million years would have expected that.
