Dan Mullan/Getty Images/File
Sergio Brown helps coach a team of local school children on July 15, 2015 in London, England.
CNN –
Police say former NFL player Sergio Brown is missing and his mother was found dead near a creek in suburban Chicago on Saturday.
The family of Brown 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 persons report and began attempts to locate both individuals,” the release said.
According to the agency, authorities searched a wide area and discovered Myrtle’s lifeless body near a creek behind her home.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office determined that Myrtle, 73, died as a result of multiple injuries consistent with an assault and that the manner of death was a homicide, according to records obtained by 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 an 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 receive a response.
Video from WBBM showed police closing off a residential street in a Chicago suburb as police responded.
“Myrtle, she was an outstanding woman and I hope she’s in the right place and with God,” Carlos Cortez, Myrtle Brown’s neighbor, told WBBM. “Like I said, I would never have expected this in a million years.”