Body found in Ohio river identified as missing Baltimore man, 24, attending Steelers-Browns game

The body of a 24-year-old man from Maryland, who went missing while visiting Ohio for a Steelers-Browns game, was found in the Cuyahoga River, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Authorities identified the body as Phoenix Phillips, according to 3News, a day after emergency crews recovered it from the river. Phillips, a resident of Perryville, a suburb of Baltimore, was located around 1 p.m. near Jacobs Pavilion after first responders responded to a report of a person in the water. The medical examiner confirmed the identity of the remains as Phillips, who had been reported missing last week in Downtown Cleveland. Cleveland police described his disappearance as concerning. Phillips 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 stated that Phillips “at some point kind of got separated from the person he was with,” but authorities are still investigating the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. Prior to the confirmation of his death, Breejanee Alford, a social worker with Cleveland Missing, mentioned that she had met with Phillips’ family, who expressed their devastation and described him as a loving father. The cause of Phillips' death and the circumstances leading to him being in the river remain unknown.