A weekend trip to Cleveland ended in tragedy for 24-year-old Maryland resident Phoenix Phillips, a devoted Pittsburgh Steelers fan who disappeared after the Browns’ Thursday night game and was later confirmed dead after a body was found in the Cuyahoga River on Tuesday afternoon.
Phillips had traveled straight to Cleveland to see his team play, but after the game ended, he was separated from the person he was with. In the dark pre-dawn hours of Friday, October 2, he vanished into the downtown streets. Police later found his cell phone abandoned on the ground near West 10th Street, which set off a missing persons investigation.
His family came to Ohio and covered the stadium area with bright yellow posters as search teams worked the area. The body found in the river was identified as Phillips.
As the search unfolded, Phillips’ social media activity drew attention online. He had run a large paid Discord channel centered on retail stock trading, and one of his final posts read, “Going to the Steelers game tonight in Cleveland. Stay tuned.”
That post also sparked harsh reactions in the comments. An X user named Frank wrote, “Damn this sh-t sad af smh prayers to his family.”
Others pointed to the danger of posting an exact location in real time. One reply, from a user named “MurderDaGoat,” said, “Hahaha, how was the game?”
By then, Phillips was likely already missing. That account has since been deleted.
Investigators are still working to determine the circumstances surrounding the body recovered from the water.
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