The 28-year-old wrestling enthusiast had somehow crashed his maroon Hyundai Excel into a swollen creek at the causeway along St Marys Road at Berkshire Park.

Mr Fitzpatrick’s body was sadly recovered two days before Christmas on December 23, devastating family and friends and sparking a number of tributes on the social networking site Facebook.

Officers from Mount Druitt Local Area Command said a coroner’s brief was being prepared in relation to Mr Fitzpatrick’s death, but said it appeared that he had driven into the causeway and was swept away by the large volume of water running through the area.

A Facebook page called “Owen Fitzpatrick is missing!! WE NEED YOUR HELP” was initially established by Mr Fitzpatrick’s friends on December 20, when family had reported him missing.

The page was soon inundated with messages of hope and help, gaining more than 2800 followers in a matter of days.

Sadly their bid to find Mr Fitzpatrick alive and well was to no avail, with rescuers retrieving the young man’s body from the creek three days later.

According to posts from friends and family on Facebook, Mr Fitzpatrick was a man who loved his family and friends as well as refereeing amateur wrestling.

He was a well-liked employee at Rich-

mond Big W and was also studying at the University of Western Sydney.

Mr Fitzpatrick’s brother, Glen posted a heartbreaking tribute on the Facebook page following the news of his death.

“Never in my time on this planet did I ever think I would have to write a status like this in a public manner, but it is with great sorrow that I write the following new information. My beloved brother OJ (Owen) Fitzpatrick has been located and so has his car, but I’m sorry to inform the people he works with, wrestles with and loves as well as family that he was not located alive and well,” he wrote in the post.

“The information is still a bit uncertain as to what happened.

“Know that this is hard on family and friends. Please let us have our privacy at this time regarding this issue I will keep you posted on when the funeral will take place and location of it.”

The post was followed with a staggering 472 tributes from friends, and strangers, sending their condolences to the Fitzpatrick family.

A further two tribute pages were established on Facebook following the announcement of Mr Fitzpatrick’s death, as well as a memorial shrine at the causeway itself on St Marys Road.