Former NFL player missing, mother found dead in Illinois creek

MAYWOOD, Ill. (WGN) — A former NFL player is missing and his mother is dead, according to police in a Chicago suburb.

Maywood Police said they were informed by family members Saturday that they could not find or make contact with 73-year-old Myrtle Brown or her son, 35-year-old Sergio Brown.

After launching a missing persons search for the Browns, police said Myrtle was found unresponsive in a creek near the back of her residence and was later taken to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Her death is being investigated as a homicide.

Family members said Myrtle had just celebrated her 73rd birthday on Sept. 8th.

Sheila Simmons, the sister of Myrtle Simmons-Brown, told Nexstar’s WGN that she last spoke with Myrtle on Thursday, Sept. 14.

“We’re going to find out what happened because it’s not normal for my sister to not answer her phone, not to respond to text messages. People have been reaching out to her since Friday. No one was able to reach her,” Simmons said. “Now, I got the call this morning saying that she’s missing, so immediately I came out here and find out my sister is dead.”

According to Simmons, early Saturday morning around 3 a.m., she received a phone call informing her that Myrtle and her nephew Sergio were missing. Simmons said she then went to their Maywood home, where she noticed things around the house were out of the ordinary.

Simmons said she searched the creek behind the house with police and initially didn’t find anything, but later in the day, she and other family members went back to search and discovered Myrtle’s body in the creek.

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Family members told WGN that they have not heard from Sergio.

Sergio, an alumnus of Proviso East High School in Maywood, played 94 games across seven seasons in the NFL from 2010-16, the majority of which were spent with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. The safety also spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills.

Maywood Police said they are currently trying to find Sergio Brown, and anyone with information that can help police find him can reach out to Maywood Police Investigations at 708-368-4131, or Maywood PD’s anonymous tip line at 708-450-1787.

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