Missing OSU Athlete Kosta Karageorge's Body Found Near Campus, Police Say

— -- A body found near the Ohio State University campus Sunday was identified as that of Kosta Karageorge, the OSU athlete who has been missing since Wednesday, police said.

Columbus police said his body was found inside a dumpster, and preliminary investigation found that he died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"We have recovered a firearm at the scene," Columbus Police Department spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said.

Police went to the dumpster after receiving a 911 call of a possible body inside, he said.

"Reports were that a female and her son were in the area. They were going through the dumpsters looking for items when they across a male," Weiner said.

The place where his body was found was just a couple hundred yards from Karageorge's home and about a half block from the main street through the OSU campus.

Karageorge, a walk-on defensive tackle on the OSU football team this year who was also a wrestler, was identified via tattoos, police said.

Buckeyes football coach Urban Meyer tweeted his condolences to Karageorge's family.

The OSU athletic department released a statement saying it was "shocked and saddened" by Karageorge's death.

He was last heard from around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, when he texted his mother that he was confused due to concussions, police said.

A missing-person report filed with Columbus police Wednesday evening says Karageorge told his mother he was sorry if he was an embarrassment, but concussions had his head messed up.

His mother, Susan Karageorge, told police the text was sent at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. She told police he has had several concussions and a few spells of being extremely confused.