A former Alabama A&M and University of Alabama assistant basketball coach who was reported missing Monday in Georgia was found shot to death Wednesday near Atlanta, according to his family.

Sammy Jackson, 59, was a star basketball player at Headland High School near Dothan who made all-conference playing for the University of Montevallo in the early 1980s.

Jackson spent a decade as an assistant coach at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville before becoming head coach at Fort Valley State University in Georgia from 2011-2018.

Along with other assistant jobs across the country, Jackson was head coach of Savannah State University’s basketball team from 1999-2000 and was an Alabama assistant from 2002-2003.

After his wife reported him missing, Jackson’s car was found abandoned in a parking spot by an apartment complex in Bonaire, Georgia, according to Macon Fox and ABC affiliate WGXA.

Sammy Jackson’s son, Desmond Jackson, sent a message to WGXA saying investigators found his father, “dead in Atlanta” on Wednesday.

Sammy Jackson’s vehicle was unlocked and deputies saw the front area had ‘items scattered over the seat and floor,’ the outlet reported, citing the investigation report. Deputies also found Jackson’s ID tag with his name and picture.

Jackson’s wife, Jill Jackson, said it was unusual for her husband’s car to be messy.

She said she last spoke to her husband Sunday night before he started his shift as an Uber Eats driver.

Jill Jackson she did not hear from her husband again until 2:15 a.m. Tuesday when he sent a text that read, ‘do you know my social security number.’

She called her husband multiple times, according to WGXA, but he did not pick up his phone.

Jill Jackson called authorities after BMW gave her the location of her husband’s car.

The Houston County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia, which received the missing persons report, said the investigation is being handled by the Peach County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office.

Efforts to reach Peach County sheriff were not immediately successful.

Sammy Jackson’s sister, Barbara Jackson, made a social media post that suggested her brother was shot and killed.

“It’s said that we are not suppose to GOD…But I still wanna ask why..Our Hearts are so Heavy….Why didn’t u just take the car & go why did u have to shoot & kill him he would have given you that car because material things never mattered to him,” she wrote.

She said her brother “had a Heart of GOLD & would have helped anybody in the world….Our love 1 is gone & we are not ready to except it..please pray for our family (GA & AL) cause this is going to be a hard 1…..We wanna thank each & everyone that shared all of our post trust me y’all showed out & did y’all part & we are 4ever grateful & can’t thank y’all enough Rest Easy Big Brother.”