MAYWOOD, Illinois — The search for missing Sergio Brown took a bizarre turn as the former Indianapolis Colts player appeared to call his mother’s death "fake news" and seemingly derided investigations into his own disappearance throughout a series of videos posted to an unverified Instagram account over the last 48 hours.
Myrtle Brown, 73, was found dead in a creek near her home in Maywood, Illinois, on Sunday, Sept. 17 after family members first reported Myrtle and her son, Sergio, missing early Saturday, Sept. 16.
Sergio, 35, reportedly lived in the home about 11 miles outside Chicago with his mother. Neighbors said the pair were often seen taking walks together.
Medical examiners with the Cook County Coroner’s Office believe Myrtle was killed by injuries related to an assault and ruled her manner of death a homicide.
As the search for Sergio’s whereabouts continued on Tuesday, investigators with the Maywood Police Department told NBC Chicago they were working to verify the authenticity of a rambling 51-second long video Sergio seemingly posted from Mexico.
An Instagram story posted to an account seemingly connected to Sergio's account, @intplayerwithapassport, apparently shows him casting doubt on his mother's death. That video which links to Brown's verified account with a statement: 'U know who locked me out at my @sergiobrown38 page', but does not have a blue check mark. Nevertheless, several videos that seemed to feature Brown were made public on that account in recent days.
“Fake news. It has to be the FBI that came into my house on Bob Marley’s death day,” Sergio can seemingly be heard saying.
Sports network ESPN is tagged in the video. Brown also aimed accusations against Maywood police and the FBI, connecting them to his mother’s death. The underbelly of a thatched-style, circular roof could be seen in the background of his video, as tropical-sounding music could be heard while Sergio spoke. He further asserted his belief that his mom was on vacation.
In another Instagram story posted to the unverified Brown account shortly after, Sergio could be seen repeating the address P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney several times in a video bordered with pictures and emojis from the 2003 Pixar film "Finding Nemo," a movie that centers on a fish searching for his missing son.
Sergio tagged the Sydney Opera House, a location featured prominently in that movie, as the location.
He is seen wearing the same green basketball jersey with a blue and white collar in both videos.
Then, on Wednesday around 10 a.m., Sergio shared another video to the unverified account. This time, Maywood, Illinois was tagged prominently as the location. While it's impossible to know when Sergio took the video — and Instagram locations can be tagged from anywhere — or if he even did take it, the video appears to show a shirtless Sergio walking down an unidentified street in the precinct where his mother was found dead and he remains a missing person.
“Oh my god, oh my god, if I die, I’m a legend. It’s too late for my city. I’m the youngest (redacted) reppin’,” Sergio could be heard saying in the video. Those lyrics are an apparent reference to Drake’s 2017 song, "Legend."
Sergio's videos were posted days after his family members issued public pleas for his return. On Sunday, Sergio’s brother sent a plea out on Instagram, requesting more information on his brother’s location and mourning the death of his mother.
“Mom, thank you for being strong, caring, diligent, fancy, funny, and for saving my art. I won’t let you down. My brother Sergio is still missing. If anyone knows where he is I want him to know that I love you and please come home,” Nick Brown wrote.
Sergio has not been listed as a suspect or person of interest in connection with his mother’s death.
He played for University of Notre Dame before being signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played with the Colts from 2012-2014 and also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.
The Maywood Police Department did not immediately respond to 13News' request for comment.