'I'd call him an English gentleman': Family describes missing Cheat Lake man

Feb. 5—It's been more than a month since Bryn Hargreaves last spoke to family in his native England.

And when Monongalia County deputies tried the door to his Whisper Creek apartment after he was declared missing Jan. 16, the easy give caught them for a second.

That's because it wasn't locked.

Once inside, they discovered his wallet and his keys. The clothes in his closet were neatly arrayed on hangers, as always.

Nothing was out of place.

Well, except for him. He wasn't there.

"It was like he was abducted, or he did a walk-around, " his mother, Maria Andrews said this past Thursday in the newsroom of The Dominion Post.

She and another son, David Hargreaves, had traveled to the U.S. from their home in Wigan, a working-class city in northern England, right between Manchester and Liverpool, the home of The Beatles.

Wigan is known for more than its close proximity to where John, Paul, George and Ringo once roamed.

It's also a hotbed for rugby, the rough-and-tumble sport that helped inspire American football, and Bryn Hargreaves, who is now 36, was one the best, turning pro at a young age.

He played on championship teams and enjoyed fame, but, like a lot of athletes, he didn't have a long go of it.

New shores In 2012, his contract wasn't renewed — in part, because his team was losing money and facing liquidation, his mother said.

"So he got disillusioned with the old game, " said Andrews, whose father and brother also played the sport professionally.

The year previous, he met an American woman while on holiday in Mexico.

A courtship turned into marriage, and that led to a trip across the pond to Pittsburgh, where his new wife had connections.

"At 26, he had still had a quite a few years in him, " his mother said.

"So he was off to America with the start of a new life."

A buddy reaches out Except, it didn't quite click, both his mother and brother said.

The marriage didn't last either, and the only job he could was at an engineering firm in the Steel City that did pipeline work and natural gas exploration in the Marcellus shale.

"It wasn't the job he wanted, " Andrews said.

Still, he made a good go of his employment — with an easy grin and the stiff upper lip of a Brit at the same time.

He quickly advanced to the position of project manager. At 6-foot-2 and a muscled 220 pounds, no one was going to outwork him on the job site.

His brother said a job transfer for a project brought him to Morgantown right before the pandemic hit two years ago.

Which didn't help, both David and his mother said.

A co-worker contacted the family asking about Bryn's well-being, David said, when his brother hadn't been seen for a while.

Mired in Morgantown Being an ocean away from a close family, while being divorced on top of that, didn't help.

Plus, he had a car crash this past Dec. 8, leaving him with a nagging back injury and an undrivable Jeep. He'd been relying on Uber or walking to get around, his family said.

David Hargreaves said his brother has been on medical leave since the wreck.

The injury has left the once-formidable athlete frustrated, his mother said.

It's been a perfect storm for blue feelings, she and David said.

"He hasn't been in a good place, " Bryn's brother said.

"I think COVID, the crash, the season — Christmas — and I think something along with the medication because of his injury ..." his mother said, trailing off.

The search continues Meanwhile, deputies and a volunteer with trained dogs are continuing to search the wooded expanses behind Whisper Creek Apartments and in the Cheat Lake area where the luxury complex is located.

"We have people out there almost every day, " said Detective Stephen Currie, the lead investigator on the case. "It hasn't been easy with the snow."

A broader search is being planned with the Mountaineer Area Rescue Group, the detective said.

There's that, plus the canvassing of all Hargreaves' electronic transactions and other online activity from Google to Apple — "And that takes time, " Currie said. "I know people get frustrated."

"We know he's not driving his car, " he said.

To date, he said, there have been no eyewitnesses or sightings on surveillance cameras at the businesses and restaurants Hargreaves has been known to frequent.

He's a fan of the Primanti Bros. sandwich chain for one, his brother said.

Anyone is information is asked contact the Marion County Sheriff's Department at 304-291-7260, the detective said.

Private messages may also be left on the department's Facebook page — which now also home to several groups formed to assist in the search. Just type in his name in the search field.

"We know the police are doing everything they can, " David Hargreaves said. "And we're so thankful for the support of everyone else, with the social media push."

Signature traits If he is out and about, Bryn Hargreaves may be sporting a beard, his brother said. Or, maybe not.

There's that distinctive tattoo of the family crest on his right arm, also — which will likely be covered by a coat or jacket — and his size, which can't be missed.

While he hasn't kept up with his conditioning, he hasn't gone to fat either, his brother said.

He's also left-handed, should you catch him signing his name somewhere.

There's that, and his now Angelo-American accent, a distinct mashup that's not fully Yank and no longer 100 % Brit, either.

Along with Bryn and David, there's another son in the brood, Gareth, who got married three years ago. That was the last time Bryn was back home, and his brothers teased about his almost-American accent.

"He now says 'aluminum, ' whereas we still say 'awl-you-min-EEH-um, '" David remembered.

The other thing that's distinctive, he said, is his brother's personality.

Despite starring in an extremely aggressive sport, he's gentle and softspoken, his brother said.

He plays guitar, does drawing and sketches and is well-read.

There's that British drollery, also. Ask him, in American fashion, how he's doing, and wait for the signature response: "Absolutely average."

"Everybody loves him, " David said. "I'd call him an English gentleman."

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