Former NFL player Sergio Brown is missing and his mother has been found dead near Chicago, police said

CNN
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Former NFL player Sergio Brown is missing, and his mother was found dead Saturday near a creek in suburban Chicago, according to police.

The Maywood Police Department said in a news release that Brown’s family and his mother, Myrtle, notified police after they said they were unable to find or contact them.

“Maywood Police officers initiated a missing person report and began making attempts to locate both individuals,” the news release said.

Authorities searched a wide area and discovered Myrtle’s unresponsive body near a creek behind her home, according to the department.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Myrtle, 73, died of multiple assault-related injuries, and the manner of death was homicide, according to records obtained by the center. 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 call the anonymous tip line at 708-450-1787.

Dennis Diaz, the lead investigator in 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 receive a response.

Video from WBBM showed police tape cordoning off a residential street in the Chicago suburb as police responded.

“Myrtle, she was a special woman, and I hope she’s in the right place and with God,” Carlos Cortez, Myrtle Brown’s next-door neighbor, told WBBM. “Like I said, I never in a million years would have expected this.”