The body of former rugby league player Bryn Hargreaves has been found 14 months after he vanished in the United States, his family have confirmed.
The 37-year-old former St Helens and Wigan Warriors player moved to the US about 10 years ago and he was reported missing in January 2022 after he did not turn up for work. A major police search in West Virginia drew a blank and last June his family revealed they had hired a private investigator to find him because "the police over there aren't doing anything".
Now, his remains have been found in woodland near to his home more than a year after he was last seen alive. Having retired from rugby, Mr Hargreaves was working as a gas and oil pipe safety inspector and was living alone.
His older brother revealed in a post on Facebook that his body had been found.
Gareth Hargreaves wrote: "With incredible sadness I can confirm after 14 months we have finally found Bryn.
He added that "we still do not know the cause of death or what actually happened" on January 3, 2022, when his brother vanished from his home near Morgantown in West Virginia. "We would appreciate a little space and will keep you updated when we have any further information," he added.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are providing support to the family of a British national who died in the US and are in contact with the local authorities."
The remains were reportedly discovered in late February and have since been identified, with his family in Wigan being informed.
Mr Hargreaves was born in Wigan and achieved his boyhood dream of playing in the Super League for the Warriors. He then joined St Helens, where he won the 2008 Challenge Cup at Wembley. He later joined Bradford but quit the game at the age of 26 when the Bulls went bust, and he moved to the US. He was also called up to the Wales rugby league squad for the World Cup qualifier against Scotland in 2007, qualifying through his grandfather.
His former clubs led tributes to him on social media.
St Helens head coach Paul Wellens said in a post on the club's Twitter account: "On behalf of the club and from myself as a former team-mate of Bryn's, we want to extend our deepest sympathies to Bryn's family. It's very sad news.
"I just want to place on record how much of a respected player and person Bryn was when he played here, how much of a well liked member of the team he was and how good he was to be around on and off the field.
"He was a fierce competitor and when I spoke to our team this morning I told them 'Bryn's the type of guy you guys would love to have played with'. It's a huge loss and we're all very saddened by it."
Wigan Warriors were "saddened to learn of the passing" of their former player, adding: "Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time."
Bradford Bulls wrote: "We are extremely saddened to learn the body of former player Bryn Hargreaves has been found. Our thoughts and condolences are with Bryn's family and friends at this difficult time."
According to a statement on the Monongalia County Sheriff's office Facebook page, a "large-scale search" of the area around Cheat Lake in West Virginia, where Mr Hargreaves lived, was carried out by members of their department, police, fire search and rescue, the FBI, a mountain rescue group and volunteers "over a several month period with negative success."
The Sheriff's Office is waiting for a completed autopsy report from the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner before a cause and manner of death is determined.
His family had set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for a private detective, and his mother Maria and younger brother David went to the States last year to help search for him.
Mum Maria Andrews told local TV station WBOY last year: "Where he lives, it's amazing. But unfortunately, it's so isolated. And that's what's happened, he became a recluse."
It has been reported that she believed her son suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, due to his repeated head hits in rugby. He reportedly crashed his Jeep on December 8, 2021, after having a seizure while driving down the road and had to stop working after the crash. "That would have been Bryn's worst nightmare because he couldn't walk, he was bed-bound," she previously said.
The PA news agency has contacted Monongalia County Sheriff's Office for comment.
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