Country artist Luke Bell has been found dead at the age of 32, nine days after he went missing in Arizona. The “Working Man’s Dream” musician’s friend Matt Kinman confirmed Bell’s death.
Bell’s body was discovered on Monday, August 29, close to where he first disappeared in Tucson. The “Sometimes” singer disappeared in the Arizona city on August 20, reportedly taking off while Kinman — who confirmed Bell’s death to Saving Country Music — went to get something to eat.
While the singer was reportedly diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he appeared to have a positive outlook on life in a 2016 interview with The Boot.
“To be honest, I live in the day, and I count smiles. That’s it,” Bell said. “Life’s not that bad. The downside, in some ways, is I don’t have a wife and kids, but at the same time, it’s pretty ideal right now. I just travel around to other cities and hang out with other people … The goal is to have high hopes and low expectations and have a good time.”
While the Nashville resident was an independent artist, he made a name for himself in the country music scene throughout his career, touring with icons such as Willie Nelson and Hank Williams Jr. Kinman and Bell have also performed together.
The “Where Ya Been?” artist told The Boot in 2016 that picking up and moving to Music City from Wyoming “was a big deal … to me!” he laughed, before adding, “It was a very different route to take; there aren’t any musicians in my family. College really wasn’t doing it for me, and I was looking for an independent platform to go learn, and music was that.”
Despite lamenting that he didn’t have a family of his own, Bell revealed that he always relied on his loved ones back home.
“They were skeptical,” he told The Boot at the time, laughing. “By the time I made my first record, everyone was really supportive, and they’ve helped me out a lot; they’re all on my team.”
In the wake of his passing, Bell’s fellow country stars mourned and paid tribute to the “Glory and Grace” singer via social media. “Goddamn, rest east to our dear friend, Luke Bell 💔,” Margo Price wrote via Twitter on Tuesday, August 30. “Man … Luke Bell … what the f–k. RIP to a real one,” tweeted Joshua Hedley. “Been a long time since I saw him and I was just talking about him the other day wondering what he’s been up to. Truly a sad night for country music.”
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