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US student found dead in Bermuda after intense search

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By JOSH BALL, Associated Press

HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) — A Pennsylvania college student who disappeared following a rugby tournament in Bermuda was found dead Monday after an intensive search of the British island territory.

Searchers found the body of Mark Dombroski, 19, at the base of a colonial-era fort in a park not far from where he was last seen walking by himself on CCTV footage, officials with the Bermuda Police Service said at a news conference.

Parents John and Lisa Dombroski, left, stand with their sons John, behind, and Kevin during a press conference regarding their missing son and brother Mark, at the Hamilton Police Station in Hamilton, Bermuda, Monday, March 19, 2018. Mark Dombroski, 19, a member of the rugby team at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, disappeared early Sunday after a night of socializing at the end of an international rugby tournament. (Blaire Simmons/The Royal Gazette via AP)
People sit together at the Arboretum after police confirmed they found the body of American college student Mark Dombroski in Hamilton, Bermuda, Monday, March 19, 2018. Dombroski, 19, a member of the rugby team at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, disappeared early Sunday after a night of socializing at the end of an international rugby tournament. (Blaire Simmons/The Royal Gazette via AP)

A cause of death was not released but forensic experts were still processing the scene where his body was found and an autopsy was planned, said Acting Commissioner James Howard.

“Bermuda Police Service extends our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends,” Howard said after a day of searching that included local authorities, volunteers and Dombroski’s family.

Dombroski was a member of the rugby team at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and had come to Bermuda to compete in a tournament. He disappeared early Sunday, with video footage showing him walking alone and looking at his phone as he left a bar where his friends had gathered.

He was found at the base of Fort Prospect in a wooded area known as the arboretum and near an athletic center where the team had played during the tournament.

Dombroski’s family rushed to the island to join the search and retrace his steps.

“We dearly love our son, we cherish our son. … We want him back,” his mother, Lisa Dombroski, said at a news conference with police officials. “We thank the citizens of Bermuda. People have been with us shoulder to shoulder throughout this ordeal.”

Parents John and Lisa Dombroski, center, stand with their sons John, left, and Kevin, right, during a press conference regarding their missing son and brother Mark, at the Hamilton Police Station in Hamilton, Bermuda, Monday, March 19, 2018. Mark Dombroski, 19, a member of the rugby team at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, disappeared early Sunday after a night of socializing at the end of an international rugby tournament. (Blaire Simmons/The Royal Gazette via AP)

Detective Sgt. Jason Smith said there’s no evidence Dombroski was drunk, or that alcohol played a role in his disappearance.

Lisa Dombroski speculated her son, who had hurt his shoulder in a game that day and wasn’t feeling well, had simply wanted to call it a night. She said the surveillance footage showed him favoring his arm.

“He wasn’t in a celebratory kind of mood,” Lisa Dombroski said. “He wanted to get back.”

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Associated Press writer Michael Rubinkam contributed from Pennsylvania.