Tony Harris is found dead

[by Gustavo Machado Cardoso] - Tony Harris, a former Washington State basketball player, was found dead yesterday near interstate BR-020 in Formosa, Goias. According to a report by TV Globo the property where he was found belongs to the Brazilian Army. Authorities are not sure about when did Tony enter the property and also what are the causes of his death yet. However, policemen interviewed by Globo's reporters believe that it was suicide. Tony had probably hung himself using his shoelaces.

Harris disappeared 15 days ago after playing a few games for Universo Brasilia during the South American Club Championships. His wife reported having talked to him one day before he vanished when he mentioned he was afraid that if he didn't return to the US soon his wife would probably not see him again. However, when asked about the reasons of his fear, he didn't answer.

Former Brazilian NT player Estevam Ferreira, who played with Harris a few years ago at Uberlandia and was now his teammate in Brasilia, said that Harris took a bus to Goiânia on Novermber 3rd. Harris then hired a cab driver to take him to Salvador where he would reportedly travel north by bus to Rio Grande do Norte where a friend of his lived. On the way to Salvador, in the city of Bezerra, when the cab pulled off to get gas and withdraw money, the driver returned to the vehicle to see that Harris had ran away.

Police and journalists started to investigate the scene in Bezerra where people mentioned having seen him around. Maria Paula Goncalves, a restaurant owner in Bezerra, reported that Harris was acting as if someone was looking for him. "We could notice he was afraid of something. He would look around to see who was leaving and who was entering the restaurant… then I gave him the cigarettes and he quickly left the place", said Mrs. Goncalves to Globo's journalists.

For an updated video report by Rede Globo on the case click here .