The body of a former Socceroos player has been found in bushland on the NSW north coast, a day after he was reported missing.
Stephen Laybutt, 46, was found dead in bushland near Cabarita in the Tweed region on Sunday night.
Laybutt was last seen on Friday night with friends at a home in Casuarina, police said.
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He was reported missing on Saturday.
Laybutt’s silver Mercedes car was found by police about 11.30am on Saturday at shops in Cabarita.
An extensive search was launched in the area, with police issuing a public appeal for information on Laybutt’s whereabouts.
A body, believed to be that of Laybutt, was found about 7pm on Sunday, police said.
The 46-year-old played 15 matches for the Socceroos between 2000 and 2004.
Laybutt made his domestic football debut in 1995 and went on to play at clubs in Australia and abroad, including in Japan, Belgium and the Netherlands.
His professional career was cut short in 2008 when an Achilles tendon rupture with the Newcastle Jets ruled him out of the A-League.
Following his football career, Laybutt came out as gay.
Laybutt said he never felt comfortable enough to share his sexuality during his playing career.
“Nobody knew. It takes a fair bit of effort to hide like that,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2021.
“Just lying to yourself all the time. That breaks you, and you head down a path of self-destruction.”
Laybutt recalled how he “spiralled out of control” after he came out.
“I was just lost, thinking everything would be sweet because I came out,” he said.
He said life became easier when he met his partner, Michael Lutteral, in 2010.
Laybutt made headlines in 2021 when he donated his kidney to a patient on dialysis while working in the rehab unit at St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney.
Laybutt texted the patient, Ian Pavey, out of the blue to offer his kidney — something Pavey said saved his life.
“People have asked me what the thought process was behind it,” Laybutt told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I just thought it was the right thing to do.”
Police said the circumstances surrounding his death are not being treated as suspicious.
A report will be prepared for the Coroner.