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Posted by: Nachtwächter

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- U.S. Coast Guard rescue crews continued searching Lake Pontchartrain on Monday for New England Patriots defensive end Marquise Hill, who was reported missing following a jetski accident.
"We searched throughout the night," said Petty Officer Tom Atkeson.



http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Marquise Hill's Biography

Watch coverage of search from New Orleans




Hill has played three seasons with the Patriots in a backup role.
Getty Images



Hill tackles Bills running back Willis McGahee at Gillette Stadium on October 30, 2005.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

(WBZ) BOSTON New England Patriots defensive end Marquise Hill is missing in Louisiana after a jet skiing accident.

His agent, Albert Elias, told WBZ Hill and a woman were on a jet ski in Lake Pontchartrain during the day Sunday when they hit a wave and fell off.

According to WWLTV.com, the search was changed from a rescue mission to a recovery mission late Monday morning, as the Wildlife and Fisheries department used a recovery line that drags the bottom of the water to search for a body.

The Coast Guard was using boats and a helicopter to search the shoreline, Petty Officer Tom Atkeson said.

Elias said Hill, 24, saved the woman's life by helping her float to a nearby pylon, but Hill drifted in another direction. Neither was wearing a life jacket.

Elias said Hill can swim, but the woman could not, so he tried helping her, before the water pulled him away.

"As he's drifting away from her he was giving her instructions just to stay calm, not to fight the water and sure enough, pretty much saved her life."

By the time search and rescue teams arrived it was late at night. Elias said the lake has a strong undertow.

Hill is 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 300 pounds, according to the Patriots web site.

He was born in New Orleans in August 1982 and graduated from high school there. He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Patriots in the second round in 2004.

Hill has played 13 games in his first three seasons with the Patriots in a backup role.

The Patriots released this statement Monday afternoon:

"We are all shocked," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft after learning of the reports of Marquise's accident. "We can only hope and pray that the search and rescue is successful. Our thoughts and prayers are with Marquise and his family. We know that Marquise is a strong young man and will remain optimistic while continuing to pray for his rescue."

Elias said Hill spent much of his time since Hurricane Katrina helping family members rebuild their homes.

http://wbztv.com/topstories/local_story_148094327.html

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Posted by: kwflatbed

State official: Patriots' Marquise Hill's body found


NEW ORLEANS -- The body of New England Patriots player Marquise Hill was found Monday, a state official said, 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 former LSU star and a female companion were involved in the accident, Capt. Brian Clark of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Department said.
"The family will have to make positive identification," Clark said, "but the body we found was that of Mr. Marquise Hill."
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.
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 jetskiing Sunday in the lake when both of them went into the water, which had a strong current. Elias 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.
"We are all shocked," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement.
The woman, whose identity was not available Monday, was rescued and sent to Tulane Medical Center where she told them Hill had tried to keep her calm as the two were drifting away from each other.
Neither Hill nor the woman wore a life preserver, Atkeson said.
"It's so important to have a life jacket and a signaling device," Atkeson said. "One keeps you afloat and the other helps us find you."
Elias said Hill, a defensive end, spent much of his time since Hurricane Katrina helping family members rebuild their homes.
"From what I hear he's done a lot to help with things after Katrina and I know he had a great passion for the city of New Orleans," said former LSU quarterback Matt Mauck, who was Hill's teammate at LSU. "Off field he was a really kind person, kind of like a gentle giant. And not only for LSU, but for New England and everyone who got chance to meet him throughout his life, everyone has to be extremely saddened and disappointed to hear the news."
After going to the NFL, Hill continued to do much of his offseason training at LSU's Baton Rouge campus, about 80 miles up the Mississippi River from New Orleans, and was known and admired by current Tigers players, university athletics spokesman Michael Bonnette said.
"His presence meant a lot for some of the younger guys. He gave them someone to look up to and he was always there for them," Bonnette said. "Here's a 6-foot-6, 300-pound guy, as intimidating as can be, and yet every time you approached him he always welcomed you with big old smile. In between the lines, he had his game-face on, but outside the lines, in the community or in the weight room, he was always smiling and having good time."

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