CLEVELAND, OH — Authorities in Cleveland have recovered the body of a Baltimore-area man who had been missing for nearly a week, after officers found what appeared to be a body in the Cuyahoga River. Police identified the man as 24-year-old Phoenix Phillips of Perryville, Maryland, and said the medical examiner will determine his cause of death.
The Cleveland Division of Police said officers were called Oct. 6 to the river after a report of a possible body in the water. Fire crews, U.S. Coast Guard personnel and EMS workers helped locate and recover the remains.
Police recovered the body after an Oct. 6 call to the river
Cleveland police said the discovery began when officers responded Oct. 6 to a report of something that looked like a body in the water. The location was the Cuyahoga River, which cuts through the city and has been the focus of the multi-agency recovery effort.
Officials said the body was transported to the medical examiner’s office for examination. At this point, investigators have not said how Phillips died, and the cause of death remains undetermined pending that review.
Police credited the fire department, the U.S. Coast Guard and EMS workers with helping bring the recovery to a close. The city has not released additional details about where in the river the body was found or how long it had been there.
Phoenix Phillips was reported missing in Cleveland on Oct. 2
According to police, Phillips was reported missing in the Cleveland area on Oct. 2, about four days before the body was found. He had traveled to Cleveland to attend an NFL game between the Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers, then disappeared.
Authorities have not publicly described the circumstances of his disappearance. The case has drawn attention because Phillips was visiting from Maryland and was last known to be in the city for the football game.
The timing of his disappearance and the later river recovery has left investigators with several unanswered questions. Police have not said whether they believe foul play was involved.
Family members traveled to Ohio and assisted investigators
Family members traveled from Maryland to Ohio after Phillips was reported missing and have been cooperating with investigators, police said. Their participation has been part of the effort to understand Phillips’ final movements in Cleveland.
Amanda Phillips, his mother, has been posting updates on Facebook as the family waited for answers. In her latest post, she said police believed the recovered body was her son, but that she was waiting for DNA confirmation before accepting it as official.
She also thanked people who had prayed for, messaged, called and shared information about the search. Her comments reflected the uncertainty and strain the family has faced while waiting for formal identification and a cause of death.
Mother says DNA confirmation is still pending
In her Facebook post, Amanda Phillips said she had not yet received official DNA results confirming the body was her son. Still, she wrote that she was beginning to make peace with the possibility that the recovered remains were Phoenix.
Her message said she wanted supporters to know what she knew so far, given how many people were waiting and hurting with the family. She said the response from friends, relatives and others had been deeply meaningful.
Multiple media outlets have reported that Phoenix Phillips was the father of a 2-year-old boy. That detail has added another layer of grief to a case that is still waiting on the final findings from the medical examiner.
Medical examiner review will determine next steps in the case
The medical examiner’s office is now responsible for determining the cause of death and confirming the identity of the body through testing. Until that process is complete, investigators are treating the case as unresolved.
For Phillips’ family, the recovery ends the search but not the uncertainty. The questions now center on what happened after he arrived in Cleveland for the game, how he ended up in the river and what the official examination will reveal.
Police have not announced any further findings, and the investigation remains active as officials await the results that could provide the first clear explanation in the case.
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