As a rugby league player Bryn Hargreaves was a Challenge Cup winner, who played for both Wigan Warriors and St Helens. The prop retired, aged just 26, in 2012 after becoming disillusioned with the sport and moved to USA shortly after.
Ten years on from his retirement, Bryn is currently missing, after mysteriously disappearing from his home in West Virginia in Janurary. Police were called to his home in Whisper Creek, outside the Morgantown city limits, after his downstairs neighbour reported water coming into their home from above.
When officers arrived, they discovered that Bryn's apartment was unlocked, but all of his belongings were there, and his shower was still running. after property on January 16 after a downstairs neighbour reported water coming into their home from above. After no new leads, sightings or discovery of his body, relatives have since expressed concern he may have been abducted.
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Bryn's best friend has now broken his silence, in an exclusive interview with The Mirror, revealing how the former Super League star “was in a really bad place” hitting the bottle before mysteriously disappearing. Matt Hecklinger fears the 36-year-old “did something to himself” but has refused to rule out “murder” after he vanished six months ago.
He spoke out in the hope other people would come forward who knew Bryn to assist his family and police in searching for the “much loved” former prop forward. Following his disappearance, Bryn's family from Wigan voiced concerns over the strapping 6'2" Challenge Cup winner's mental health.
American Matt, 32, told the Mirror that since the breakdown of Bryn’s marriage to Amy Bombard in 2017, his life began to spiral downward. “I think it could go either way, but I absolutely hate to say this, I think in terms of what is most realistic and probable is that Bryn did something to himself,” Matt, of Vermont, said.
“I understand there’s some crazy s*** and it totally seems like it could be nefarious, but he was in a really bad place and had nobody to lean on here. I could see Bryn doing something to himself because of where he ended up in terms of mentally compared to how he was before.”
The former rugby league star moved to the States after meeting Amy on holiday in Mexico. They married months later, on August 16, 2013, in Pittsburgh, where Bryn had been offered a job by his wife’s brother-in-law Mike Trapuzzano working in the gas and oil industry.
But three years after tying the knot, the couple had begun living separately. The separation hit Bryn hard.
“Splitting up was really tough for him. It was not good,” Matt, who spoke to the former rugby star just weeks before he disappeared, said. "We all have our better half as they say, like a good wife or a partner. Someone, I think who helps to balance you and kind of like keeps you in check.
“So I think he lost that person to care for or just that feeling of belonging. Once Bryn lost that, he lost value in himself and his purpose.
“Bryn is extremely confident, but he doesn’t care that much about himself. What brings him happiness is providing and taking care of other people. He lost that.”
Matt added: “We partied a good bit, and he was definitely drinking way, way, way more. I mean, more than I’ve seen even in the movies.
“I can’t even comprehend really the amount. I like to have some fun, but it was uncomfortable. I think his mental health was really, really poor.
“Just imagine being completely alone and isolated and, on top of that, having to deal with Covid.
“After Bryn’s split, I was like, ‘Dude, like, why are you here?’ He was all alone. He had me and some friends from work, but that’s like work stuff, and so after he and Amy split up, I was just like, ‘go back to the UK’.
“I think his loneliness really wore him down. It’s sad, but it was kind of a slow progression.”
Living in the hope his friend is still alive, Matt has a theory of what he may have done. “Whereas I’m a country boy, Bryn’s a city person,” he added. “He likes the finer things in life.
“He probably is not sleeping on the ground because of his back. From his days playing rugby it is absolutely awful. So I don’t think that he would just hit the woods. So even if he’s down and out, I don’t see him just like sleeping on the street.”
Despite Matt’s fears, he accepts someone may also have harmed his friend - a feeling shared by several former pals and colleagues, as the Mirror revealed. “The circumstances of his disappearance are absolutely uncanny and are like something you would see on a Netflix fricking documentary,” he conceded.
“With the circumstances of his disappearance, it really raises a lot of questions as to could this have been something like he got murdered, but what’s the motivation. There are murderers out there, people that do things. They think this guy’s good-looking or whatever, and they take him out, or who knows. Bryn didn’t get into fights with people, though.
“He had no enemies that I was aware of. When Bryn had a drink, he was a sloppy drunk, but he never got aggressive.”
The men bonded as they both worked in the oil and gas industry, with Matt being a cousin of the Trapuzzanos. With a shared love of music, their friendship grew so close that they would spend almost every weekend together often with Amy.
But after the prop forward split with his wife, Matt says he saw a noticeable change in his “best friend”. Regarding the breakdown, Matt said: “I think they tried to reconcile, but it never really took off.
“They were always talking, and they had their dog Zula, so they always had that connection. He would take the dog, and she would take the dog, but then that kind of dissolved because he was so busy working that he didn’t have time to really take care of the dog.
“So then he lost the dog, and he loved that dog. That didn’t help him either.”
Matt said Bryn had seen other women, one in particular who he believed lived in Florida, but nothing permanently developed. He could not speak highly enough of Bryn or his devastation over his disappearance.
He described the Challenge Cup winner as “incredibly generous”, loyal, highly intelligent and a natural artist.
“Bryn was always incredibly generous,” Matt said. “I’m talking like picking up huge tabs at the bar and not to show off, but just being incredibly generous.
“He is also an incredibly talented artist. Loyal to a fault.
“I pray he comes back soon. They are too many people who love him.”
Matt urged anyone who may have information to contact the police or the website set up to help find him.
If you want to donate to the fund to help find Bryn, visit the GoFundMe page. More information is also available on the 'Find Bryn Jack' website.
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