Police say they are searching for former NFL safety Sergio Brown after his mother was found murdered in west suburban Maywood over the weekend.
Myrtle Brown, 73, was found along a creek near her Maywood home around 2 p.m. Saturday after relatives told police they could not find her or her son, according to police.
Police said they found Brown after conducting a second, wider search of the area around her home, in the 1100 block of Nichols Lane.
An autopsy found she had suffered several injuries from an assault, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Lamont Johnson, who lives down the street from Brown, told the Sun-Times Monday morning she was a good neighbor.
“She was just a nice lady, always friendly and very helpful,” Johnson said.
He said he doesn’t know Sergio Brown well, but he would occasionally see him walking down their street talking on the phone.
“The whole thing is strange,” Johnson said. “Something happens to your mother, and you’re nowhere to be found? That’s pretty strange.”
Johnson said he saw police cars outside her home about a month ago, but he didn’t know why.
Brown’s body appears to have been found near a small nature walk along a section of Silver Creek, which cuts behind her house. Tall grass and wildflowers line the creek, and a cluster of trees border her backyard.
Sheila Simmons, Myrtle Brown’s sister, told WGN-TV that she last talked to her Thursday. She said she learned early Saturday that both Brown and her son were missing.
Nick Brown, one of Myrtle Brown’s sons and Sergio Brown’s brother, described his mom as strong, caring, diligent, fancy and funny in a Facebook post Sunday evening.
“It’s a sad but hopeful time, and we will all get through this together. Mom always told me, ‘tough times don’t last’ and our last conversation about tough times being temporary is my beacon of hope,” Nick Brown wrote.
He also asked that anyone with information about Sergio Brown’s whereabouts contact the Maywood Police Department.
“My brother Sergio is still missing. If anyone knows where he is, I want him to know that I love you and please come home,” he wrote.
Maywood police said in a release they were searching for the son and asked anyone with information to call detectives at 708-368-4131 or an anonymous tip line, 708-450-1787.
Sergio Brown, 35, attended Proviso East High School in Maywood and was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills through 2016.
