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Bermuda bar owner says U.S. student wasn't drunk before disappearance

College rugby player's death in Bermuda
Foul play not ruled out in U.S. college rugby player's death in Bermuda 02:24

HAMILTON, Bermuda -- A Bermuda bar owner said a Pennsylvania student did not appear to be drunk before he disappeared. Mark Dombroski, 19, was found dead Monday at the base of a colonial-era fort in a park on the island territory. Frank Arnold, owner of the Dog House bar, said Dombroski "was not sober, but he was not intoxicated."

He said Dombroski's parents had been to the bar on Sunday to look through hours of closed-circuit television footage.

Dombroski went missing early Sunday morning about 1 a.m. from outside the popular pub, CBS Philadelphia reported.

A cause of death has not been released and forensic experts were still processing the scene where his body was found. 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 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.

Bermuda Missing US Student
Mark Dombroski Courtesy of Bermuda Police Service via AP

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."

Detective Sgt. Jason Smith also said there was no evidence that 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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