Body Pulled From the Cuyahoga River Is Identified as Missing 24-Year-Old Maryland Man Phoenix Phillips After Steelers-Browns Game in Cleveland
CLEVELAND, OH — Authorities have confirmed that a body pulled from the Cuyahoga River is Phoenix Phillips, the 24-year-old Maryland man who went missing after the Steelers-Browns game in Cleveland. Family members had been searching for him for days after he disappeared following Thursday night’s matchup.
Phillips’ mother, Amanda Phillips, said she last texted with him after the game and again early Friday morning before learning something was wrong. The family had traveled to Cleveland to look for him, handed out flyers and asked for help from anyone who might have seen him. Cleveland police are still working to piece together what happened.
Mother says Phoenix Phillips was excited to watch the game with friends
Amanda Phillips described her son as a loving father, a successful business owner and someone who enjoyed sports, football and the Steelers. She said he had a 2-year-old son and stayed in close contact with his family.
According to his mother, Phoenix messaged her from the airport before heading out to watch the game with a friend. She said he sounded upbeat and happy about the trip. Amanda said she usually heard from him every day, often multiple times, and that the family was used to knowing where he was.
That routine changed after the game. Amanda said she texted him Thursday night and then again at 7:30 a.m. Friday, expecting to hear back quickly. Instead, she soon received a call from Cleveland that made her fear the situation was serious.
Family says the night ended with him separated from the friend he traveled with
Phillips came to Cleveland with a friend, but Amanda Phillips said the two separated during the night. She said the friend eventually went back to the hotel while Phoenix stayed out with other men they had met during the evening.
The family later learned that one of those men had found Phoenix’s phone after the night out. Amanda said she was told the device had been dropped and recovered by someone who had been with him. That phone became one of the key clues the family had as they tried to understand his last known movements.
His mother said the friend who had traveled with him was also devastated by the disappearance. Family members have not said what happened after Phillips was separated from him, and investigators are still trying to fill in those gaps.
Text messages and a Friday morning call raised the alarm quickly
Amanda Phillips said she had been in contact with her son late Thursday night after the game and again early the next morning. When she answered a call from Cleveland at 7:36 a.m. Friday, she immediately knew something was wrong.
She said the call came from one of the people Phoenix had met during the night, who told her that Phoenix’s phone had been found. That detail told her the situation had shifted from a routine family check-in to an urgent search.
The family said it did not take long to realize that Phoenix was missing and that they needed to get to Cleveland. By Saturday, Amanda Phillips and her sister were in the city handing out flyers and looking for any sign of him.
Relatives from Maryland joined the Cleveland search effort
More family members arrived early Tuesday morning to continue the search, according to Phillips’ uncle, Tom Porter. He said the family has been trying to stay hopeful while also dealing with the stress of not knowing what happened.
Porter described the situation as a nightmare and said the family wants answers as soon as possible. He said they are looking for a conclusion that can explain how Phillips went missing after a night that was supposed to be about football and time with friends.
The family said they have worked alongside Cleveland Missing and Cleveland police while trying to locate him. They also said they would not stop searching until they got answers about his disappearance and the events that followed.
Cleveland police continue to ask the public for information
Cleveland police have been working to determine what happened after Phillips vanished following the game. Officers have asked for the public’s help as they try to reconstruct his movements and identify anyone who may have seen him that night.
Family members have also appealed for information from anyone in the area who may have noticed something unusual or spoken with Phillips before he disappeared. Cleveland police have not publicly detailed the full timeline, but they continue to investigate the case.
Anyone with information about Phoenix Phillips is asked to call the Cleveland Police Department at 216-835-6179. His family said they want to understand what happened and will keep searching until they do.
