The body of former Socceroos, Wollongong Wolves Football Club and Sydney Olympic FC football player, Stephen Laybutt, has been found in bushland on the NSW North Coast after an extensive police search.
According to The Daily Telegraph, after spending Friday with friends in the Casuarina area in the Tweed Coast region, Laybutt was reported missing on Saturday morning and his silver Mercedes-Benz was found parked at a Cabarita shopfront on Saturday at 11:30 am.
His body was then found in bushland near Cabarita at 7pm on Sunday.
The 46-year-old who lived at Elizabeth Bay, previously worked in the rehab unit of St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney, and played 15 matches for the Socceroos from 2000-2004.
Laybutt also played in the old National Soccer League with the Wollongong Wolves and Sydney Olympic as well as the Brisbane Strikers and Parramatta Power.
In 2008, an achilles tendon rupture in an A-League match subsequently ended his career.
Football NSW made a statement on their Facebook regarding Laybutt’s death, sending its deepest condolences to the football star’s family.
“The former AIS graduate was known as one of the toughest defenders in the league and always played with his heart on his sleeve,” the post read. “May he rest in heavenly peace.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph.
