The Allen County (Indiana) Coroner’s Office confirmed that a body found in an Indiana river is retired NFL player James Hardy III. The 31-year-old former Buffalo Bills wide receiver was reported missing a week ago.
According to the Fort Wayne Police Dept, Hardy’s body was found wedged in a dam in the Maumee River in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Wednesday. Hardy’s mother reported him missing on May 30.
The 6-foot-6 Fort Wayne native was a 2 sport player at Indiana University. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft.
Hampered by injuries, Hardy played in 16 games for four NFL teams in his brief 3 years in the NFL.
Reality TV star Antonia “Toya” Wright, who dated Hardy in 2009, expressed her condolences to his family on her Instagram.com account on Thursday night.
“I would like to express my sincere condolences to the Hardy family at this difficult time… may your heart and soul find peace and comfort. #RipJames”, she wrote under a photo of Hardy wearing his NFL uniform.
Tragedy also struck Wright last year when her brothers Ryan “Rudy” Johnson, 24, and Joshua “Fish” Johnson, 31, were killed in a drive-by shooting in New Orleans.
