Cole Brings Plenty, the “1923” actor who went missing last weekend, was found dead Friday in a wooded area in Kansas, police and his family said.
The actor, 27, was last seen in the early morning hours of March 31 leaving the Lawrence, Kansas, area in a white Ford Explorer, according to a “missing” flier posted to the Instagram page of his uncle, “Yellowstone” actor Mo Brings Plenty.
Cole Brings Plenty was also identified previously as a suspect involved in a domestic violence dispute, according to a Facebook post by the Lawrence Police Department in Kansas.
The body of Brings Plenty was found and identified after Johnson County, Kansas, deputies were dispatched to an area in reference to an unoccupied vehicle on Friday, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. There, they discovered a deceased male “in a wooded area away from the vehicle,” police said.
“I am deeply saddened to confirm that my son, Cole, has been found and is no longer with us,” his father, Joe Brings Plenty Sr., and family said in a statement. “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.”
Days before he was found, police said they had “probable cause” for Brings Plenty’s arrest in response to the allegations of domestic violence, according to a statement from Lawrence police.
“Officers responded to reports of a female screaming for help, but the suspect fled before officers arrived,” the statement read. He was last seen on traffic cameras “leaving the city immediately after the incident” on Sunday, according to the statement.
The family contacted officers, expressed concern and reported Brings Plenty as a missing person, the statement said.
Early on Wednesday, Brings Plenty’s manager and publicist Michelle Shining Elk told CNN in a statement, “Despite our persistent efforts, we have been unable to establish contact with Cole; his disappearance without informing anyone of his whereabouts is not characteristic of him and is deeply concerning.”
In addition to appearing in two episodes of the “Yellowstone” Western series prequel “1923,” the actor’s other credits include appearances in TV series “Into the Wild Frontier” and “The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger,” according to his IMDb page.
