Homicide Investigation Underway After Mother Of Ex-Patriot Found Dead

The death of a former New England Patriots player's mother now is being investigated as a homicide, according to the Maywood, Ill. police department, per WGN 9 in Chicago.

Ex-Patriots safety Sergio Brown and Myrtle Brown were reported missing by family members on Saturday night, per Maywood police. An ensuing search led to the discovery of a deceased Myrtle Brown, 73, in a creek near her home, according to WGN 9. Her 35-year-old son remains missing.

Myrtle Brown's sister, Sheila Simmons, was notified about her missing family members in the early hours of Saturday morning. Simmons proceeded to go over to Myrtle and Sergio's home and "noticed things around the house were out of the ordinary," per WGN 9.

"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," Simmons told WGN 9. "People have been reaching out to her since Friday. No one was able to reach her. 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."

Sergio Brown broke into the NFL with the Patriots in 2010 after going undrafted out of Notre Dame. He played two seasons in New England before he was released by the team days before the start of the 2012 campaign. The retired safety went on to log stints in Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Atlanta and Buffalo before his NFL career ended in 2016.