Body of rugby league star Bryn Hargreaves is found more than a year after he went missing in the US

The body of rugby league star Bryn Hargreaves has been found in the US more than a year after his disappearance.

The ex-St Helens player, 37, was reported missing after failing to show up for work last January, sparking a major police hunt in West Virginia.

His brother Gareth wrote on Facebook yesterday: RIP Bryn Hargreaves. It is with incredible sadness that I can confirm that after 14 months we finally found Bryn.

‘We still don’t know the cause of death or what actually happened on 3/1/22. Thanks to all who helped with the search.’

His mother Maria Andrews also wrote on social media, “Not something I wanted to share. I’m in pieces #heartbroken. My beautiful son Bryn. I can’t think of words to describe the pain xx.’

Bryn’s family last spoke to him on Facetime on January 3, 2021. A Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said at the time of his disappearance that Bryn had been reported missing on January 16.

When officers arrived, they found his door unlocked and his shower still on, and all his belongings, including his phone and Apple laptop, raising fears that he had been kidnapped.

Sniffer dogs were deployed to the Cheat Lake area of ​​Morgantown, but to no avail. His brother Gareth said at the time: ‘It’s almost like he’s been kidnapped from his shower.

“It’s definitely a fear of mine. He clearly had mental health problems and had severe back pain from a car accident in December.

“I think the police thought he had hurt himself and that is certainly a possibility that we are also afraid of. But five months later, a body would certainly have turned up.

“It’s a little strange when you want to disappear to leave your apartment unlocked with all your ID and some of your valuables.

It’s one of the reasons I can’t leave here. If he’s had a bad time and had enough, so he’s brought himself along, that’s fair enough.

“But if something happened and we didn’t try to help or find him, I could never forgive myself.”

Investigators launched a manhunt, which yielded no definitive leads.

His family launched a GoFundMe page to raise £20,000 to pay a private investigator, but all searches turned up nothing.

His mother and brother flew to the US on January 28 for seven weeks to search for Bryn.

Bryn, from Wigan, made 175 appearances in the sport’s top league, Super League, for Wigan Warriors, St Helens and Bradford Bulls.

He retired from rugby aged just 26 after becoming disillusioned with the game and subsequently moved to the US.

Bryn worked in the oil and gas industry and lived in Pittsburgh with his American wife Amy whom he met on vacation in Mexico.

When the couple split, he moved to West Virginia, but Gareth said Bryn felt isolated during the Covid lockdown and suggested he might move back to the UK.

Gareth previously said the private investigator asked police if he could search a lake for Bryn’s body and confirmed he had mental health issues.

But he had claimed that the police would not authorize the search, and although the family had the money for a private investigation, this prevented them from going any further.

Gareth previously said: “The private investigator said he couldn’t find any concrete evidence for anything.

“But he believed Bryn was in a bad mental state, and he had more evidence to back that up.

“He believed he was more likely to commit suicide, which we knew was a strong possibility. He wanted to search the lake again because he thought the first search had some vulnerabilities. But the police didn’t want that.’

Gareth said he personally “struggled” with not getting any answers about his brother’s whereabouts after his sudden disappearance.

And he had claimed there were lines of inquiry that the police should have pursued soon after he went missing.

He said, ‘His phone was never used, they couldn’t. Honestly, they never checked the CCTV footage, which was a little frustrating.’

Unfortunately, no one could provide a date or location where he was last seen or what he was wearing, which police said hampered their efforts to find him.

After news of Bryn’s death was shared on social media, other friends and family paid tribute to the “kind” and “gentle” sportsman.

A family member wrote, “Heartbroken. My cousin was a kind, reserved and gentle giant and he gave you his right arm.’

A friend added: ‘RIP Bryn Hargreaves mi old friend.. tragically all this has been going on lately with good friends and friends from growing up and playing rugby with going.. great memories as kids.. pisses me off.. rip mate .’

Another said, “To all the family, I am so sorry for the loss of Bryn. Times have not been easy for the past 14 months. Bryn impressed everyone he came into contact with and was loved by so many people.”

No cause of death has yet been determined.