Who was Bryn Hargreaves? Tributes pour in as body of rugby player found more than a year after he went missing

The body of Bryn Hargreaves, a former rugby league player who went missing last year, has finally been found after receiving confirmation from his family. The former Wigan, Leigh, St Helens and Bradford forward went missing in January 2022 in the Cheat Lake area of Monongalia Country, West Virginia. He was 36 years old at the time.

An extensive search began for him ever since he disappeared. However, they had not borne any fruit. Fourteen months later, Bryn Hargreaves' body was finally found and the news of his demise was confirmed by his elder brother Gareth Hargreaves in a Facebook post.

Gareth 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."

Bryn's mother Maria Andrews also shared a picture of the former rugby player 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."

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A glimpse into the career of Bryn Hargreaves - a former English professional rugby league player

Bryn Hargreaves was born on November 14, 1985, and was a professional rugby league player for eight years. He started his career at Wigan Warriors in 2004 before playing for St. Helens and Bradford Bulls. In 2012, he announced his retirement from rugby.

Hargreaves started his career as a prop at Wigan Academy in 2002 before making his debut on the subs bench against the Salford City Reds in July 2004. Later that same year, he was given a two-year full-time contract with the Wigan Warriors. In 2006, he signed a two-year deal with St Helens and played in the 2009 Super League Grand Final. In 2010, he signed a two-year contract with the Bradford Bulls and in 2012, he decided to retire from the sport.

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Friends and family pour tribute as they found out about Bryn Hargreaves' demise

As soon as the post informing Bryn Hargreaves' demise emerged, friends and family members shared heartfelt messages. Several people commented that Bryn made an impact on everyone he came in contact with.

See reactions below,

Social media reaction (Image via snip from Facebook /@GarethHargreaves)

Tributes pour in (Image via snip from Facebook /@GarethHargreaves)

In January 2022, Bryn did not come to work and was reported missing. His family later released a statement mentioning that they last contacted him on January 3, 2022 and had reached out to the police after they found that his apartment was empty.

Bryn Hargreaves' family also said last year that the former rugby player was dealing with mental health issues and was experiencing terrible back pain after he had met with a car accident in December 2021.

Prior to this, he also got divorced and several people believed that Bryn must have disappeared because of the negative impact the divorce.

Additionally, Bryn's family had also hired a private investigator to look into the case, who wanted to search the lake for his body but did not get permission from the police to do so. However, Bryn's family's search operation came to an end after his body was found on March 19, 2023.