Former England rugby player Tom Voyce presumed dead after car swept away by river

By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — Former England rugby player Tom Voyce is believed to have died after his car was swept into a river, local authorities have said.

A search has been underway since Sunday when Voyce, 43, failed to return home after seeing friends the previous evening, according to Northumbria Police.

Officers have since recovered his car in northeast England, but Voyce is still yet to be found.

“At this time, it is suspected Tom (Voyce) has attempted to cross Abberwick Ford in his car which has then been pulled along with the current of the river,” a statement from Northumbria Police said Tuesday.

“It is believed in his attempts to escape he has been swept away and tragically died.”

Reports in British media suggest the area was affected by flooding at the time of the incident, as Storm Darragh battered the United Kingdom with strong winds and rain over the weekend.

Voyce played nine times for England between 2001-2006, but also enjoyed a successful club career.

Having started at Bath, Voyce went on to represent Wasps, Gloucester and London Welsh.

In November 2004, Voyce set a record playing for Wasps when he scored the quickest try in Premiership history. After gathering a loose ball from kick-off, he scored a try in 9.63 seconds against Harlequins.

He made 220 Premiership appearances in his career before retiring in May 2013.

The search for Voyce is still underway, but police have said they are dealing with “very challenging circumstances” and have asked the public not to conduct their own searches.

“This is an extremely tragic incident and our thoughts are very much with Tom’s loved ones at this time,” added the police.

“We continue to support his family and we would ask that their privacy is respected.”

There has been an outpouring of emotion for Voyce since police released their statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Tom Voyce at this extremely challenging time,” England Rugby wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Voyce’s former teammate Matt Dawson also paid tribute with a post on Instagram.

“One of life’s wonderful humans… I can’t express my sadness right now,” he wrote, with a picture of Voyce training for England.

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Mary Neale-Smith contributed reporting.