Jacksonville football star Louis Nix III found dead, family says

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Family members confirmed to News4Jax that former NFL player Louis Nix III has died.

The former Raines High School football standout who went on to play at Notre Dame, spend two years with the Houston Texans and briefly sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars, was reported missing to police on Wednesday. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office sent out a tweet at 8 p.m. Saturday, saying they located Nix without saying where or how he was found.

JSO’s dive team pulled a silver Hyundai matching the 29-year-old car’s description and tag number out of a pond on Broxton Bay Drive, just south of River City Marketplace.

Nix’s brother told News4Jax later Saturday night that Nix is “gone.”

UPDATE: The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has located Louis Nix. Thank you to all who shared his photo and information. pic.twitter.com/bhyz9W56Um — Jax Sheriff’s Office (@JSOPIO) February 28, 2021

Nix, 29, was injured in a shooting in December about a half-mile from where what is believed to be his car was pulled from the water on Saturday night.

His mother and brother told News4Jax earlier Saturday that the last time they were in touch with him was on Tuesday. Nix was supposed to meet his brother at his dad’s house, but he ended up leaving before his brother arrived and didn’t say where he was going.

“We kind of missed each other because once he got there, I had left to get something to eat, and I was on the way back, but he had already left by then,” he said.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, patrol officers were called to 42nd Street West on Wednesday because of a missing adult and efforts to locate Nix since were unsuccessful.

Ketarah Reed, Nix’s girlfriend, said she lived with Nix before he died. She said after Nix said he was on his way back home on Tuesday night after hanging out with a friend, she never heard from him again.

“The intentions were he was coming back here so we could just hang out, but he just never made it here,” Reed said. “I texted and I was, like, ‘Are you good,’ and he never texted me back, so I start calling and then his phone was ringing, and it just completely went out.”

Reed said earlier that day, she had a great conversation with Nix and they were both sharing how much they loved and cared for each other.

Reed said he was not acting out of the ordinary that day. But she did say when he had went missing, that was unlike him, he always stays in contact.

“I’m with him every single day,” Reed said. “I’ve been with him since 2017. I know how he is.”

Nix’s brother said the same thing when News4Jax spoke with him earlier Saturday.

“We may not hear from him every day, but we hear from him at least every other day, or at some point, he’ll pull up,” he said.

Nix, a longtime football star in Jacksonville, was most recently in the news when he was shot while filling his tires at a Jacksonville gas station. He told News4Jax days after the harrowing encounter that he was “getting through it” and hoped it wouldn’t happen to anyone else.

Reed said she was still processing the fact that Nix was shot at the gas station minutes away from the pond where his car was found Saturday in December.

“He just got shot by some random people in December,” Reed said. “We still are recovering from that, and then this happens.”

After graduating from Raines, Nix attended Notre Dame. His mother said people in Indiana near Notre Dame are concerned and trying to look as well. Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly also released a statement on Twitter today asking for the community up there to work to look for him.

NOTRE DAME Nation: Let’s all do our best to reach out and connect with Louis Nix. Louis, let us know you are doing alright or that you may need your NOTRE DAME family and friends for assistance.☘️ pic.twitter.com/AF9fg8vN9K — Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) February 27, 2021

Nix, calling himself “Irish Cholocate,” was selected by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He underwent knee surgery before he could play any game and was released two years later. He was briefly with the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars practice squads before the Jaguars signed him to a reserve/future contract in January 2017, but released him four months later.

DECEMBER STORY: 2 men sought after Jacksonville football star shot at gas station

Nix recorded a video of himself as he was pulled into an ambulance after he was shot at the Gate gas station off Airport Center Drive in December.

“At the time, I would say, I felt close to death,” he told News4Jax days after the shooting. “I was shot in my chest and the bullet ricocheted to my sternum and to my lung and I’m currently dealing with a bullet in my lung right now.”

Nix said that while pumping air, two men walked up to him, flashing a light in his eye. He pushed back, then felt a shot in his chest.

The Sheriff’s Office said they’re still searching for two suspects in the case – two men that Nix said he didn’t know.

“I think it was just something random,” Nix said. “I feel like it could have been anybody.”

Report: Former Notre Dame star Louis Nix III dead after being reported missing

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Former Notre Dame star Louis Nix III has reportedly died after being reported missing by his family. He was 29.

Nix, who was a standout defensive lineman for the Irish before playing three seasons in the NFL, was reported missing by his mother on Friday. The missing persons report said that Nix left his father’s house in Jacksonville on Tuesday morning and had not been seen since.

Nix’s mother told Ben Becker of WJAX-TV that the people he speaks to daily have not heard from him. A day later, she told him that her son had died.

BREAKING: Tragic news. The mother of Louis Nix has confirmed to me that the former Raines High School and Notre Dame star who played in the NFL has passed away @ActionNewsJax @NDFootball pic.twitter.com/9ocmaecu0Q — Ben Becker (@BenBeckerANjax) February 28, 2021

Details on how Nix died and where he was found remain unclear, but the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office reported it found him Saturday evening.

The last communication anybody received from Nix was on Tuesday, she said. Nix’s mother also told Becker that she believed Nix is in danger.

When I asked Nix mother do you think he is in danger she said “Yes.this is out of the normal for him.” @ActionNewsJax @NDFootball — Ben Becker (@BenBeckerANjax) February 27, 2021

Nix played at Notre Dame from 2010 to 2013 and established himself as one of the top interior defensive linemen in the country while helping the Irish reach the national title game in 2012. Over that span, Nix totaled 122 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He was drafted in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Houston Texans.

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Nix spent time with the Texans, New York Giants, Washington Football Team and Jacksonville Jaguars between 2014 and 2017, but his professional career was derailed by a series of knee injuries.

Louis Nix III, a star defensive lineman at Notre Dame from 2010 to 2013, has been reported missing in Jacksonville, Fla. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Brian Kelly asked Notre Dame community for help

Brian Kelly, Nix’s head coach at Notre Dame, sent out a tweet Saturday morning asking for help in locating Nix.

“Notre Dame nation, let’s all do our best to reach out and connect with Louis Nix. Louis, let us know you are doing alright or that you may need your Notre Dame family and friends for assistance,” Kelly wrote.

Nix was shot during a robbery in Jacksonville in December. Nix, in a live video he posted as he was being transported to the hospital, said he was shot and robbed while putting air in his tires.

“If I do not make it, I really love everybody. I can’t contact nobody right now, and I am glad they are putting it on the line for me. I love you all,” Nix said.

Nix survived the attack. The next morning, he wrote on social media that “the bullet that hit me ricocheted off my sternum into my lung.” Nix was released from the hospital Dec. 19 and has been in physical therapy in the weeks since.

Nix’s mother told WJAX-TV that she does not believe her son’s disappearance is related to the robbery attempt.

Nix mother says she does not believe this is related to the robbery attempt. However since then, Nix didn’t like going anywhere and watched his surroundings. She doesn’t believe he had any enemies @ActionNewsJax @NDFootball — Ben Becker (@BenBeckerANjax) February 27, 2021

Former NFL star missing after harrowing poster circulates

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Louis Nix (pictured left) has been declared missing (pictured right) after posters were circulated asking for his whereabout. (Images: Getty Images/Twitter)

Former NFL star Louis Nix has been declared missing after five days as posters were found seeking any information on his whereabouts.

Nix, a former Notre Dame star, left his father’s Jacksonville, Florida, home last Wednesday and hasn’t been seen since.

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The incident comes just several weeks after Nix was shot after an attempted robbery when he was putting air in his tyres in December.

When asked about whether he was in danger, Nix’s mother told reporter Ben Becker: “Yes. This is out of the normal for him.”

Nix was a Notre Dame star for three years while he established himself as one of the top linebackers in the country.

The Houston Texans then picked him up in the third round of the NFL draft in 2014.

Nix played for the Texans, New York Giants, Washington Football Team and Jacksonville Jaguars between 2014 and 2017, before his professional career was cut short due to injury.

When I asked Nix mother do you think he is in danger she said “Yes.this is out of the normal for him.” @ActionNewsJax @NDFootball — Ben Becker (@BenBeckerANjax) February 27, 2021

Former NFL player Louis Nix III is reportedly missing, several weeks after being shot at a gas station https://t.co/0AG7PPqZen #NFL #NFLDraftNews pic.twitter.com/FeuFqQ6420 — NFL Draft Diamonds (@DraftDiamonds) February 27, 2021

#JSO is seeking information regarding the whereabouts of missing adult Louis Nix (Black/Male, 29), who was reported missing on Wednesday, February 24, 2021.

It is possible that he is driving a 2014 Gray Hyundai Azera (FL JGFM41).

Call 904-630-0500 with information. pic.twitter.com/ltHE6JeuiQ — Jax Sheriff’s Office (@JSOPIO) February 27, 2021

Football community rally together for Nix

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The Notre Dame community have rallied together in an attempt to locate Nix.

Coach Brian Kelly helped spread the word with a post on social media.

“Let’s all do our best to reach out and connect with Louis Nix,” he wrote.

“Louis, let us know you are doing alright or that you may need your NOTRE DAME family and friends for assistance.”

Nix was shot during a robbery in Jacksonville in December. Nix, in a live video he posted as he was being transported to the hospital, said he was shot and robbed while putting air in his tires.

“If I do not make it, I really love everybody. I can’t contact nobody right now, and I am glad they are putting it on the line for me. I love you all,” Nix said.

Nix survived the attack.

The next morning, he wrote on social media: “The bullet that hit me ricocheted off my sternum into my lung.”

Nix was released from the hospital on the 19th of December and has been in physical therapy in the weeks since.

with Sam Cooper - Yahoo Sports US

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