The actor, who had been missing since March 31 and was wanted in a domestic violence case in nearby Lawrence, Kansas, was found dead in a wooded area of Johnson County.
In a statement, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to the area at 11:45 a.m. in response to a report of an unoccupied vehicle. Brings Plenty’s body was found nearby.
“Investigations, Crime Scene Investigators, and the Medical Examiner are on scene,” JCSO said in a statement. “This investigation is ongoing.”
No cause of death has been reported.
In a statement shared with NBC News following news of Brings Plenty’s death, his father, Joe Brings Plenty Sr., said he was “deeply saddened” by the loss.
“I am deeply saddened to confirm that my son, Cole, has been found and is no longer with us,” he said. “We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone for the prayers and positive thoughts you sent for Cole. We would also like to thank everyone who came to walk beside us as we searched for my son and provided the resources we needed to expand our search areas. I learned this week how many people knew the goodness in Cole’s heart and loved him.”
Joe Brings Plenty Sr. said the family is asking for “privacy as we process our grief and figure out how we move forward.”
Cole Brings Plenty, who appeared in the “Yellowstone” spinoff show “1923” as Pete Plenty Clouds, had disappeared after an incident on March 31 in Lawrence, Kansas, a university town around 40 miles west of Kansas City.
“Lawrence Police have submitted an affidavit to the District Attorney for the arrest of Cole Brings Plenty after an incident Sunday morning at an apartment in Lawrence,” officials said in a statement on April 2. “We’ve identified him as the suspect, have probable cause for his arrest, and issued an alert to area agencies.”
The release went on to say officers had responded to the apartment following “reports of a female screaming for help, but the suspect fled before officers arrived.”
Lawrence Police said Cole Brings Plenty was spotted on traffic cameras leaving the city immediately afterward, heading south on U.S. Route 59.
“This incident involves allegations of domestic violence, which limits the amount of information we can share to protect the victim,” the police statement read, adding that “no further details will be provided.”
Cole Brings Plenty’s family initially expressed concern about the missing actor and contacted the police.
In a statement on his verified Instagram account, Mo Brings Plenty, who plays Mo in “Yellowstone” and is the younger actor’s uncle, shared a missing person poster of his nephew. The missing person poster noted that the younger Brings Plenty’s phone was off and they’d realized he was missing after he “missed an appointment with his agent for a TV show, which is uncharacteristic for him.”
In a statement to NBC News, Cole Brings Plenty’s agent Peter Yanke said the actor had missed an audition for an upcoming project over Zoom on Monday, April 1.
“I had spoken to him Thursday afternoon about the details and he was excited about it. When Cole didn’t show up on Zoom, I reached out to his manager,” Yanke said. “We hope he is found safe and appreciate the efforts of his family, friends and film industry colleagues to try and locate him. Our thoughts go out to them during this difficult time.”
Cole Brings Plenty’s costars also posted about the actor, asking their social media followers to help find him.
“My good friend @mobringsplenty nephew is missing,” “Yellowstone” star Cole Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler on the show, wrote in an April 2 Instagram post. “He was last seen on Easter evening in Kansas City.”
Michelle Randolph and Kelsey Asbille, Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer and Amina Nieves also shared messages, E! News reported.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com