Matti's death ruled accidental drowning

Published Jul. 6, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The death of Purdue running back Sean Matti – whose body was found in a lake in northern Indiana on Tuesday – was ruled as an accidental drowning, according to preliminary results of an autoposy released Wednesday.

Matti, 22, was last seen Sunday swimming in Lake Freeman, Ind., by friends who had gathered for a party about 25 miles from Purdue's West Lafayette campus.

His friends spent about six hours looking for him, then reported him missing at 11:30pm local time Sunday.

Witnesses said Matti had been drinking, but toxicology results were pending.

Matti, a native of Shoreview, Minn., was a senior walk-on who never had appeared in a game for the Boilermakers.