JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Former Notre Dame and NFL footballer Louis Nix, who was reported missing earlier this week, was found dead Saturday, family members told two television stations in Jacksonville. He was 29 years old.
Nix’s family reported him to police on Wednesday. After several days of searching, the Jacksonville sheriff’s office wrote on Twitter at 8 pm ET on Saturday that Nix had been located, but did not report Nix’s condition. CBS / Fox affiliate Action News Jax reported that Nix’s mother confirmed that Nix was dead. WJXT TV-4 reported Nix’s death through another family member.
According to the Jacksonville sheriff’s office, Nix was last seen Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET, leaving his father’s Jacksonville residence. Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly sent a tweet Saturday morning asking for public help in finding Nix.
Nix was injured in a December shooting while filling his car tires at a gas station near Jacksonville airport. He said on social media that he spent 10 days in the hospital and that a bullet bounced off his sternum and entered his lungs.
Nix played at Raines High School in Jacksonville and played three seasons at Notre Dame before being selected in the third round by the Houston Texans in 2014. Nix, a defensive attack, never played a game for the Texans due to knee injuries and played in just four games in 2015 for the New York Giants. He also spent time in training teams with the Washington and Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016.