Alex Coppinger: Canberra motorbike rider’s body found after crash

The devastating discovery of Alex Coppinger’s body came after a frantic late night search effort for the young man, who was a talented Aussie rules player.

Alex Coppinger was riding his modified Yamaha on Paddy’s River Rd when he crashed.

The desperate search for missing Canberra motorbike rider Alex Coppinger ended in tragedy on Monday morning with the discovery of his body in scrub off of Paddy’s River Road.

Mr Coppinger, 21, was reported missing late on Sunday night after he didn’t return from a ride along the winding roads south of Canberra.

Alex Coppinger died in a motorbike crash on Paddy’s River Rd outside Canberra.

Teams of police officers, emergency services workers and members of Mr Pottinger’s family searched well into the night and resumed looking for him at sunrise on Monday.

Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman said crash investigators were trying to figure out why Mr Coppinger’s bike left the road.

Inspector Boorman said the circumstances of Mr Coppinger’s death were extremely tragic, with desperate family members having joined the search along the roads he planned to ride.

Police officers found Mr Coppinger’s body near his wrecked motorbike just after 9am, Inspector Boorman said.

The roads Mr Coppinger were riding on his modified black Yamaha are popular among cyclists and motorcyclists.

Mr Boorman said it was too early to know precisely what caused the fatal crash.

Mr Coppinger was a talented young Aussie rules player for the Queanbeyan Tigers, where he was the club’s 2017 under-18 best and fairest.

In a Facebook post, the club described him as an “absolute nice guy”.

“This is terrible news to lose such a ripping young bloke at such a young age,” the club said.