AMILLA, Texas — Searchers have recovered the body of a former reliever with the Chicago Cubs who was reported missing on a southeast Texas lake.

Jessie Edward Hollins, 39, apparently drowned while fishing below Lake Livingston Dam on Thursday afternoon, according to the Texas Department of Parks & Wildlife. Hollins was a native of Conroe.

Texas Game Warden Capt. Shawn Phillips said searchers found Hollins' body about 4 p.m. Friday, close to the area where he was reported to have entered the Trinity River while fishing.

The Trinity River Authority temporarily suspended discharges from Lake Livingston to aid searchers, who used side-scan sonar and divers to search an area of the Trinity River that is several hundred yards wide and between 6 and 12 feet deep.

"We had a lot of help out here and everyone worked together really well," Phillips said. "I'm glad we were finally able to make a recovery and that Mr. Hollins' family can have some closure."

Hollins was fishing on the Polk County bank of the river when he disappeared.

Hollins appeared in 1992 as a relief pitcher for the Cubs. He was chosen by Chicago in the 40th round of the 1988 draft, out of San Jacinto Junior College.

Lake Livingston is about 80 miles north of Houston.