Police are searching for former NFL player Sergio Brown after his mother's battered body was found in a creek behind her suburban Chicago home.
The Maywood Police Department reported the discovery of Myrtle Brown, 73, on Saturday after relatives alerted authorities that Brown and her son had gone missing.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office determined Brown died from injuries sustained during an apparent assault. The office ruled her death a homicide.
Brown's brother, Nick, has taken the family's plea for the ex-defensive back's safe return to social media.
Brown played in the NFL for six years with the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots.
Brown, a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010.
CNN further reports:
Police tape cordoned off a residential street in Maywood – about 15 miles west of the Loop – as police responded, video from WBBM shows.
“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 next-door neighbor, told WBBM. “I never would've expected this in a million years.”
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The investigation continues, according to Nick Brown, who asked people not to approach the family's property and contact Maywood police with any information about his brother's whereabouts.
Anyone with information can contact an anonymous tip line at 708-450-1787, police said. The lead investigator on the case, Dennis Diaz, did not respond to CNN's request for more information. CNN has reached out to Brown family members.
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