The body of a young father from Maryland, who disappeared while visiting Ohio to attend a Steelers-Browns game, was found in a river, officials confirmed Wednesday.
Authorities identified the remains as 24-year-old Phoenix Phillips, a day after emergency crews recovered the body from the Cuyahoga River. Phillips, a father and native of Perryville, a Baltimore suburb, was discovered around 1 p.m. near Jacobs Pavilion following a call reporting a person in the water.
The medical examiner confirmed the identity of the deceased as Phillips, whose disappearance in downtown Cleveland the previous week was described by police as "concerning."
Phillips had traveled from his home state to Ohio to watch the matchup between the two football rivals, according to a Facebook post from the non-profit Cleveland Missing. He was last seen around 6 a.m. last Friday near West Superior Avenue and Robert Lockwood Jr. Drive, according to a missing person report.
Cleveland police spokesperson Sgt. Freddy Diaz told WEWS that Phillips had "at some point kind of got separated from the person he was with," and that authorities were still working to determine the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
Before the confirmation of Phillips' death, Cleveland Missing social worker Breejanee Alford told WEWS that she had met with Phillips' "devastated" family, who described him as a "loving dad."
The cause of Phillips' death and how he ended up in the river remain unknown.