Baltimore Ravens' Ed Reed Mourns Loss of Brother ID'd as Mississippi River Jumper

HARVEY, La. (CBS/WJZ/AP) An autopsy has confirmed police suspicions that the body recovered from the Mississippi River Tuesday is in fact, Brian Reed, the 29-year-old brother of Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed.

Brian Reed was last seen jumping into the river about 30 miles northwest of New Orleans after an encounter with a sheriff's deputy on Jan. 7.

Authorities had tentatively identified the body on Wednesday, but were waiting to receive official confirmation from the Jefferson Parish coroner's office, which concluded that the preliminary cause of death appeared to be accidental drowning.

According to Reed's mother, Brian Reed battled drug and alcohol problems and was suspected of stealing his younger brother's car when he leaped into the river, reports The Washington Post.

"That's the unanswered questions that we have to go through," Ed Reed said during a press conference. "That's something that we have to live with, not knowing what happened that day."

"It's been tough, but God is good and to have found our brother today brings closure in knowing he's in a better place," Reed said. "...Good will come up out of it. Hopefully another kid won't go down the same road."

Funeral services are set for Saturday at 11 a.m. at Mount. Zion Baptist Church in St. Rose, Louisiana.