The body of former Grand Valley State quarterback Cullen Finnerty was pulled from the woods of Northern Michigan late Tuesday, days after the 30-year-old disappeared while out fishing near his family’s cottage.
Finnerty, who led Grand Valley State to three Division II national titles and more than 50 wins during his four years as a starter last decade, went missing Sunday. His body was found around 8 p.m., just a mile from where he was reported last seen, Lake County Undersheriff Dennis Robinson told The Detroit News.
The cause of death wasn't immediately clear, but Robinson said foul play wasn't suspected. He said the body was not in the water and was found in a wooded area in Webber Township, near the family's cottage. An autopsy would be needed to determine how Finnerty died, the undersheriff said.
Still a popular fixture at Grand Valley State, the search for the 6-foot-3, 230 pound ex-athlete was aided by university staffers and current players, all of whom joined police and other volunteers in combing the lake and nearby woods. The News reports Finnerty last spoke with a family that night in a phone call in which he said "he was nervous about something."
Sheriff Robert Hilts added that based on that call, family members suspect "he might be having some kind of a mental episode — that he was either afraid or something and ran off into the woods." The sheriff said authorities tried tracking Finnerty's cellphone "until it went dead."
Finnerty briefly played for both the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos after his Grand Valley State career was over.
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