A body found in the Maumee River in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Wednesday has been identified as former Buffalo Bills wide receiver James Hardy, according to Fort Wayne’s NewsChannel 15.
Hardy, who played in the NFL for two seasons (2008-09) was spotted by a Fort Wayne Filtration Plant employee, who was on his regular rounds of the area. He quickly alerted police, who arrived with rescue workers to remove the body around 2:30 p.m. local time.
“[O]fficers observed a body floating on the north side of the dam entangled in a log jam,” a Fort Wayne Police Department press statement said on Wednesday.
Hardy’s body is at the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center, which is still attempting to determine a cause and manner of death. Read more at Washington Post.
People across the area are mourning the loss of Fort Wayne sports star and former NFL player James Hardy. His body was pulled from the Maumee River Wednesday afternoon. According to police his family reported him missing May 30.
Hardy was a well-known name in sports around Fort Wayne. He was a basketball and football standout at Elmhurst High School before graduating in 2004.
He went on to be a wide receiver at Indiana University before being drafted to the Buffalo Bills in 2008. Hardy also played for the Ravens but injuries cut his career short. He was released in 2011. Read more at Wane.com.