Patriots' Hill dead after jet ski accident

NEW ORLEANS -- The body of New England Patriots player Marquise Hill was found Monday, a day after he was reported missing following a jet ski accident on Lake Pontchartrain.

Hill's body was discovered by searchers about a quarter of a mile from where the 24-year-old former LSU star and a female companion were involved in the accident, Capt. Brian Clark of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Department said.

The Coast Guard was called Sunday night, Petty Officer Tom Atkeson said. The search began immediately, using boats and helicopters.

By the time the body was found, the Coast Guard, Wildlife and Fisheries, the New Orleans Police Department and Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department were involved, Clark said.

Loved ones including Hill's fiancee, Inell Benn, and friends, including Patriots teammate Randall Gay, waited anxiously along the shoreline as the search went on. They consoled one another when authorities told them Hill had been found dead.

Hill's body was taken to the Orleans Parish Coroner's office, but phone messages left there and on coroner Frank Minyard's cell phone were not immediately returned.

Hill's agent, Albert Elias, said he had been told Hill and a young woman were jet skiing Sunday in the lake when both of them went into the water, which had a strong current.

Authorities said the woman was able to make it to a pylon and hang on until she was rescued, while Hill was last seen floating away from the scene.

Hill played on LSU's national championship team and was a second-round draft pick by New England in 2004. Hill had yet to start for the Patriots, playing in 13 games in his NFL career.