By Brett Vito/Staff Writer

Germaine Dawson, a former North Texas football player, was found shot and killed near an automotive business in the 2400 block of south Interstate 35E this morning.

Police responded to a call about a white SUV that had been parked near an auto dealership for a couple of days.

The man, found in the driver’s seat, appeared to have suffered a single gunshot wound to the head, said Lewisville Assistant Police Chief Joni Eddy. No weapon was found in the vehicle.

Troy Taylor, chief investigator with the Denton County office of the Tarrant County Medical Examiner, confirmed Dawson’s identity.

He was 21.

Dawson’s girlfriend reported him missing Thursday night to Denton police, police spokesman Ryan Grelle said.

She told police that he left for Dallas Wednesday night, and by Thursday night he had not returned, Grelle said.

“We don’t know what he was heading to Dallas for. He just did not return,” Grelle said.

UNT was scheduled to scrimmage on Friday afternoon, but the workout was cancelled, according to a school spokesman.

Dawson walked on at UNT and worked his way into the starting lineup later in his career. He started the first 11 games of the 2006 season and played in 12.

Dawson finished third on the team with 54 tackles.

He saw action in 11 games as a backup in 2007 and played in one game in 2008. He was still a student at UNT and was on course to graduate in May.

B.J. Lewis of the Denton Record-Chronicle and Wendy Hundley of The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-395-3987. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.