Family of missing ex St Helen’s Rugby League star Bryn Hargreaves, 36, launch £20,000 appeal to hire private investigators to try and find him after he vanished five months ago in West Virginia
- Ex-St Helens prop forward Bryn Hargreaves, 36, has been in the US 10 years
- His family have launched a Gofundme to raise £20,000 for a private investigator
- The rugby star went missing in January and no sign has been seen of him since
The family of a former rugby league star who vanished without trace five months ago has launched a fundraising appeal to pay for private investigators to try to find him.
Ex-St Helens prop forward Bryn Hargreaves, 36, has been living in the US for the past 10 years but went missing in January, sparking a major search by police in West Virginia.
But despite repeated attempts to track him down, including a website dedicated to finding him, the hunt has drawn a blank.
Now after legal advice in the US, his worried family hope to hire expert help in the form of private investigators to shed some light on his disappearance and have set a fundraising target of £20,000.
His brother Gareth wrote in his family’s Gofundme page: ‘Bryn has had some unfortunate life events and became isolated due to Covid, leading to mental health issues of late.
He had moved to the US to live with his American wife who he met on a holiday to Mexico.
However the couple split and Hargreaves moved from Pittsburgh to West Virginia for a job transfer.
Bryn Hargreaves’ family are appealing for anyone with information to come forward, and say he has a custom tattoo of his family’s crest on his right arm
‘We appreciate all the hard work of the local police departments and helpful community, but unfortunately, after five months, there have been no leads or progress.’
Former St Helens teammate Paul Sculthorpe tweeted shortly after Bryn went missing: ‘He’s a good fella Bryn… hopefully he is found safe and well..’
Bryn, who is originally from Wigan but now lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, played for Wigan Warriors, St Helens and Bradford Bulls between 2004 and 2012.
The prop forward retired aged 26 after his contract wasn’t renewed by Bradford, who had serious financial difficulties.
He had been in regular touch with his family but they have not heard from him since January 3.
A colleague of Hargreaves contacted the star’s family to enquire about his wellbeing after he hadn’t been seen for a while.
His apartment was found empty around 10 days later, with his wallet and keys inside. Search parties continued into February but yielded few results.
At the time of his disappearance Bryn lived alone and didn’t have a car.
Gareth said his mum and brother flew out to the USA on January 28 for seven weeks, but they are still no closer to finding Bryn and fear for his welfare.
He added that after receiving advice from a former district attorney, the family had decided to try and raise £20,000 to fund private investigators to look into Bryn’s disappearance.
Bryn’s home was discovered empty and police are sure he is not using his Jeep, pictured
Any money left over will be donated to charity Rugby League Cares which works in the aftercare of players and generally within the rugby league community
All cash donated will be used to fund the investigation into Bryn’s disappearance, but may be used to repatriate his body if he is found dead.
The page adds: ‘Some monies may need to be used for legal expenses in sorting and protecting Bryn’s assets, with my mum potentially needing to go back over to the USA to do so.
Any remaining balance will be donated to Rugby League Cares to continue their great work in the aftercare of players and generally within the rugby league community.’
A spokesman for the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office said Bryn was reported missing to them on January 16.
Sniffer dogs were deployed to the Cheat Lake area of Morgantown, but to no avail.
Bryn’s family are concerned for his welfare and say he was struggling with his mental health prior to his disappearance
Sadly, nobody was able to give a date or location where he was last seen or what he was wearing, which police said hindered their attempts to find him.
He is described as 6’2, 220lbs and has a distinct tattoo of his family crest on his right arm, which they released a picture of.
Detective Stephen Currie, the lead investigator on the case, told the Mirror in February: ‘We have people out there almost every day. It hasn’t been easy with the snow.
‘It takes time. I know people get frustrated. We know he’s not driving his car.’
Luke Mawson, media manager at Bradford Bulls said the club is waiting for some good news.
‘We have shared this on our social media channel to try to increase the awareness of it.
‘We hope he is found safe and well – fingers crossed we get some good news. He did many positive things for us; we are thinking about him and his family at this moment in time.’
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Department.
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