What happened to Bryn Hargreaves? Former rugby player's body found 14 months after SUDDEN disappearance
CHEAT LAKE, WEST VIRGINIA: The body of former rugby player Bryn Hargreaves, who went missing in 2022, was found on Sunday, March 19. Hargreaves was last seen in January 2022 at his house in Cheat Lake, West Virginia.
His elder brother Gareth Hargreaves, 39, shared the news about Hargreaves' death on Facebook. He wrote, "RIP Bryn Hargreaves. With incredible sadness I can confirm after 14 months we have finally found Bryn. We still do not know the cause of death or what actually happened on 3/1/22. Thanks to all those that have helped in the search. We would appreciate a little space and will keep you updated when we have any further information." The rugby ace's mother Maria Andrews also shared her son's picture on Facebook and wrote, "Not something I wanted to be sharing I'm in bits #heartbroken my beautiful son Bryn I can't think of any words to describe the pain xx."
ALSO READ
Who was Robert Hoagland? CT man missing since 2013 found dead in NY after living under ANOTHER name
Jose Gutierrez: Ohio man, 36, disappears while visiting fiancee in Mexico, family fears kidnapping
What happened to Bryn Hargreaves?
Hargreaves' employer reported him missing after he failed to turn up to work. He had retired from rugby league and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his wife at the time. But soon, he decided to move to a quieter place and shifted to West Virginia. His family said in a statement that Hargreaves last contacted them on January 3, 2022, and reached out to police after his apartment was found empty.
'Poor mental state'
At the time, Hargreaves's elder brother Gareth, 39, told BBC North West Tonight why his brother's disappearance seemed 'strange' to him. "Why would you leave your door open, your shower on, and leave all your items inside?" he said. Last month, in an interview with Yorkshire Post, Gareth described his brother's 'poor mental health' and said, "The private investigator said he couldn't find any concrete evidence for anything. But he believed Bryn was in a poor mental state, and he had more evidence to back that up. He believed he was more likely to have committed suicide, which we knew was a strong possibility. He wanted to search the lake again because he believed the initial search had some vulnerabilities. But the police wouldn't grant that."
Gareth also launched a website to receive tips regarding his brother. The website includes several photos of Hargreaves along with a small bio. His bio reads, "Bryn Hargreaves is from Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. He played professional rugby league for his hometown team – Wigan – and also for their rivals St. Helens and the Bradford Bulls. After retiring from the game he emigrated to the US in 2013, initially living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then moving 90 minutes south to Morgantown West Virginia. He has been a permanent resident since the end of 2014. He has a large tattoo on his arm but unfortunately, the media has published the tattoo photo in reverse so it isn’t easily readable."
