Police find body in River Taff during search for missing female rugby player, 22, who disappeared after being dropped off at home following a night out
- Brooke Morris, 22, from Merthyr Tydfil, was last seen at around 2.40am Saturday
- Today police announced they found a body during huge volunteer-aided search
- A formal identification is yet to take place but her family are receiving support
- Friends paid tribute to ‘loved girl’ as rugby club praised ‘amazing’ local response
Brooke Morris, 22, from Trelewis, a small town in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, was dropped off outside her home in the early hours of Saturday morning
Police searching for a popular female rugby player who went missing after a night out today found a woman in a river.
Brooke Morris, 22, was last seen in the early hours of Saturday morning after being given a lift home from the town centre of Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, by friends.
Police said officers searching rivers and waterways near her home in Trelewis had found a body in a stretch of the River Taff.
A spokesman said: ‘Police officers carrying out searches of rivers and waterways near Trelewis as part of the investigation into the disappearance of 22 year-old Brooke Morris, sadly located the body of a woman in a stretch of the River Taff earlier this afternoon.
‘Formal identification has not yet taken place, but Brooke’s family have been informed and continue to be supported.’
Police previously said they believe the women’s rugby player never entered her house at Bontnewydd Terrace after being dropped nearby in a car on her way home from a night out.
She was believed to have walked towards a bridge which goes over the river near her home, prompting a huge search operation in and around local waterways and woods.
She was described as 5ft 3, with a slight build and long dark hair, and was last seen wearing boyfriend-style jeans and a red long-sleeve top.
More than 100 volunteers joined the search find Brooke alongside police, firefighters and mountain rescue experts
Brooke was believed to have walked towards a bridge which goes over the river near her home, prompting the huge search operation in and around local waterways and woods
Volunteers and Ms Brooke’s clubmates at Nelson RFC helped police search in woodland and rivers in the area near her home, while the Central Brecon Mountain Rescue team were involved in the search on Sunday.
Ms Brooke’s rugby team shared several appeals on social media for information about her whereabouts, while the Welsh Rugby Union and former international and BBC commentator Jonathan Davies have also shared appeals.
When she vanished, a Nelson RFC spokesman said: ‘The response and love shown for Brooke has been amazing.
‘Hats off to her teammates and the endless amount of volunteers that have searched tirelessly the last few days. Brooke your one loved girl.’
Rescue parties fanned out across a waterway in Treharris in Merthyr Tydfil’s south (left) during the search for Brooke (right)