San Diego police took former NFL defensive back Sergio Brown into custody on Tuesday (October 10) in connection with the mysterious death of his mother, CNN reports.

Brown vanished after the body of his 73-year-old mother, Myrtle Jean Simmons-Brown, was found Sept. 16 in a creek behind her suburban Chicago home in Maywood, Illinois.

Authorities arrested Brown, 35, upon his return to the United States from Mexico. Law enforcement in Mexico reported that Brown had been in their country since Sept. 19. They quickly deported him after Illinois officials obtained an arrest warrant.

San Diego Sheriff’s Department inmate records indicate Brown is in custody on a felony fugitive arrest warrant. He now awaits extradition to Maywood on a first-degree murder charge, The New York Times reports.

The Simmons-Brown family, who have not been in touch with Brown, issued a statement on Wednesday (Oct. 11) expressing their relief, saying they are "heartened by the news that Sergio Brown has been apprehended and returned to the United States unharmed,” reports NBC News.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in Illinois ruled Simmons-Brown’s death a homicide from “multiple injuries due to an assault.”

Relatives told investigators they couldn’t find or contact Brown after his mother’s death. Days later, an Instagram video surfaced of someone resembling Brown who called reports of Simmons-Browns’ death “fake news,” saying she was “on vacation” in Mexico.

Brown played college football for the University of Notre Dame before joining the New England Patriots as a defensive back in 2010. He went on to play for several other NFL teams, including the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars.