Brandon Smith: 'Heartbroken' school community mourns death of 17-year-old football player who went missing

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: A high school football player, identified as 17-year-old Brandon Smith, was discovered dead just hours before his team was set to play in the state championship game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported that Brandon Smith was a sophomore at Manchester High School, and his untimely death has deeply affected both his community and those who cared about him.

In response to the news, a letter expressing love and condolences for Brandon has circulated on the Internet.

What happened to Brandon Smith?

Brandon Smith was a member of Manchester High's football team which was scheduled to play in a state title game on Monday night, December 11, at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The cause of his death in Manchester is currently under investigation.

Smith was reported missing on Saturday, December 9, prompting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to assist in crime scene processing on Sunday. 

One X user reported the news about Smith, “Meriwether County football player dies on eve of team's state title game. 17-year-old Brandon Smith’s body was found this morning. His coach posted on FB on Sat., he was missing @GBI_GA assisting Manchester PD.”

The X user who posted about Smith's death, soon took to Facebook to share additional information about his death, He wrote, "A large crime scene is taped off on 3rd street in Manchester, Georgia."

He added, "This town is in Meriwether County. It’s about an hour and a half south of Atlanta. I’ve reached out to Manchester Police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for details regarding the active investigation."

"This crime scene went up as a search has been underway for 17-year-old Brandon Smith. His football coach put up a missing persons post on Saturday regarding Brandon who plays for the Manchester High School Blue Devils. This morning, that post was deleted. The Blue Devils are set to play on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. I did reach out to the Meriwether County Coroner, but she said as of 1.52 pm had not been requested to a scene in Manchester. She was however aware of police activity in town. This crime scene is about .4 miles from the Manchester Police Department. As I get information, I will update this post," posted the user, as per 11alive.

'We are heartbroken to hear the news'

The death of football player Brandon Smith has left his school in shock. In a heartfelt message, the school expressed deep sorrow over the tragic news, referring to him as one of their student-athletes.

"We are heartbroken to hear the news of the tragic and untimely death of one of our student-athletes, Brandon Smith," read the letter released by Meriwether County School System Superintendent Dr Robert A Griffin and Manchester High School Principal Mrs Suze Neal.

"We continue to pray for Brandon’s family, friends, teammates, and classmates. Manchester High School will have mental health support available starting on Monday morning," they added as per Daily Mail.