The body pulled from a Wisconsin river Monday afternoon was that of the 21-year-old son of Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, according to multiple reports.
Son Of Green Bay Packers Coordinator Mike Philbin Found Dead
Authorities had been searching for Michael Philbin since he was reported missing Sunday night. He had been visiting friends in Oshkosh the previous evening and was last heard from around 2 a.m. local time Sunday, police said.
By Monday evening, police said that they were still treating the search for Philbin and the body recovered from the Fox River as two separate cases. But several media outlets reported the body pulled from the river by a Winnebago County rescue/recovery team was Michael Philbin’s.
The public information officer for the Oshkosh police said during a brief news conference that detectives made a positive identification of a male recovered from the river, but were waiting to release his name pending notification and according to the wishes of his family. Foul play was not expected.
News that Michael Philbin was missing came as the top-seeded Packers prepared for Sunday's playoff game against the New York Giants in the NFC divisional round.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy spoke somberly of the situation during his press conference.
“The Philbin family is obviously going through a tough time right now. As we always have, we’re a family first philosophy with our organization and with our program. We’re supporting Joe and his family as best we can and we’re holding out hope that this comes to a positive conclusion.”
McCarthy said Joe Philbin was in Oshkosh. He said the team would be “prepared to do whatever we need to as a staff to make sure our football team is ready to go” against the Giants.
The Packers had the No. 3 offense in the NFL under Joe Philbin this season. The coordinator and his wife, Diane, have six children.
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