Former NFL player Sergio Brown is missing after his mother was found dead near her home in a suburb of Chicago over the weekend.
The Maywood Police Department said they issued a missing persons report on Saturday when family members were unable to locate Brown and his 73-year-old mother. According to the Chicago Tribune, the body of Myrtle Brown was found by a creek and a medical examiner concluded she had died by homicide after an assault.
“Myrtle, she was an outstanding woman, and I’m hoping she’s in the right place and she’s with God,” Carlos Cortez, Myrtle Brown’s neighbor, told Chicago broadcaster WBBM. “I never would’ve expected this in a million years.”
Police have so far been unable to locate Sergio Brown, 35. They have not named a suspect in the case.
Brown joined the New England Patriots as an undrafted free-agent from Notre Dame in 2010. He played seven seasons as a safety in the NFL, including stints at the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars. His final season came in 2016, when he played eight games for the Buffalo Bills.