5/29/13 - A former NFL quarterback from Livingston County who went missing in northern Michigan Sunday has been found dead. The body of 30-year-old Cullen Finnerty was found about 8 p.m. Tuesday in the woods within a mile of where he disappeared. Thatâs according to Lake County Undersheriff Dennis Robinson, who said the cause of death wasn't immediately clear. However, he said foul play wasn't suspected. He said the body was not in the water and was found in a wooded area in Webber Township, near the family's cottage. An autopsy will be needed to determine how Finnerty died. The search drew scores of police and volunteers, including staff and players from Grand Valley State. Sheriff Robert Hilts said Finnerty last spoke to a family member Sunday night in a phone call in which he said "he was nervous about something." Based on that call, Hilts said the family suspected "he might be having some kind of a mental episode -- that he was either afraid or something and ran off into the woods." The sheriff said authorities had been tracking Finnerty's cellphone "until it went dead" and that the terrain made the search for the 6-foot-3, 230-pound ex-athlete difficult. Finnerty, a 2001 Brighton High School graduate, was a dual-threat QB who played for Grand Valley teams that won Division II titles in 2003, 2005 and 2006. He also briefly played in the NFL in Baltimore and Denver. Finnerty, who lived in Howell, leaves behind a wife and two young children. (JK)
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