Former U.S. Basketball Star Found Dead in Brazil

By Pamela Mortimer

Two weeks after he was reported missing, the body of Tony Harris was discovered in a dense thicket in central Brazil. Harris was a former basketball star at Washington State University who had played professional basketball in various areas of the world.

It was an anonymous tip on Sunday that led police to the body, which was slumped against a tree. Police spokesman Norton Luiz confirmed that Harris had been playing for Universo, a basketball professional team based in Brasilia, the country’s capital.

The body was "slumped against a tree in an Army training ground and with the shoelace of one of his sneakers wrapped around his neck," Luiz said. "We believe he may have committed suicide because it appears the body fell from one of the tree’s branches, although we are not ruling out homicide."

Luiz also stated that the state of the body indicates that Harris died about five days before he was found outside the small town of Formosa.

According to Luiz, Harris’ father-in-law and a family friend traveled to Goiania, capital of Goias state, to make a positive identification of the body. In a few days, Harris’ body should be flown back to the United States for burial.

The American Embassy to Brazil confirmed the arrival of Harris’ father-in-law and the family friend but declined to make further comment until the body is positively identified.

Harris was reported missing November 4, only three days after his debut as a shooting guard for the Brazilian team, said Jorge Bastos, one of Universo’s directors.

"According to some of the other players, Harris appeared to be nervous and overly anxious about something," Bastos said by telephone. "But he never said what was bothering him."

Harris, who would have turned 37 on Sunday, played for the 1994 WSU team that made it to the East Regionals of the NCAA tournament. Before that, Harris was a part of state championship teams at Garfield High School, located in Seattle.

After his tenure at Washington State, Harris played in Asia and South America, including a former stint in Brazil.

Harris eventually returned to Seattle and most recently worked as a counselor at Echo Glen, a juvenile rehabilitation facility. The job at Echo Glen ended when he was not hired on permanently in February, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.