Michigan sheriff: Missing ex-national champ quarterback may have been nervous, ran into woods
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this May 29, 2008 file photo, Denver Broncos backup quarterback Cullen Finnerty stretches at the team's headquarters in Denver. Authorities are searching for Cullen Finnerty, a quarterback who led Grand Valley State to three Division II national football championships, after he failed to return from fishing near his northern Michigan cabin. The Lake County, Mich., sheriff's department says the search continued Monday evening, May 27, 2013 for the 30-year-old Finnerty, who didn't return Sunday night, May 26, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (The Associated Press)
Law enforcement officials say a former Division II national champion quarterback who went missing during a fishing trip in Michigan may have become nervous and ran into the woods.
Lake County Sheriff Robert Hilts said Tuesday that family members of Cullen Finnerty told investigators the ex-Grand Valley State player "was nervous about something and it was suspected that he might be having some kind of a mental episode."
Finnerty was reported missing Sunday night after he went fishing near Baldwin, about 65 miles north of Grand Rapids.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hilts says authorities were tracking Finnerty's cellphone "until it went dead." Searchers found a small pontoon boat Finnerty was using to fish.
The 30-year-old led Grand Valley State to three Division II national titles and briefly was a member of the Baltimore Ravens.