Former UCLA basketball player Jalen Hill has passed away after his family reported he went missing in Costa Rica. He was 22.
His body was found several days after he went missing.
Jalen’s family announced the tragic news on Instagram on Tuesday. A cause of death was not disclosed. No other information is available on his death.
Hill is best known as one of the UCLA players detained in China in 2017 on suspicion of shoplifting a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses.
Jalen, LiAngelo Ball, and another player were released after then-President Donald Trump intervened on their behalf.
In a video in April 2017, Jalen said he suffered from anxiety and depression after being detained in China.
He said his mental issues led him to quit the team in 2021.
“The head space I was in, it was damaging the team,” he said. Jalen reported he felt happier than he ever did in his life after he quit the team.
Jalen’s father, George Hill, played basketball at Kansas State University.
