Cause of death revealed for Luke Bell, a country musician who went missing last month
Cause of death revealed for Luke Bell, a country musician who went missing last month
Country musician Luke Bell‘s cause of death was an accidental fentanyl overdose, according to ABC 9 KGUN Tucson.
Bell was found dead on Aug. 29 at the age of 32, nine days after he was reported missing in Tucson, Ariz. His friend and fellow musician Matt Kinman confirmed Bell’s death on the blog Saving Country Music on the day his body was found.
It was also reported that drug paraphernalia was found at the scene of his death.
The U.S. Sun detailed that the Pima Province Clinical Inspector’s dissection report expressed Chime experienced arteriosclerotic cardiovascular sickness and had a blood liquor grouping of 0.076 at his season of death. The Mayo Clinic classifies arteriosclerosis as a condition that occurs when arteries become thick and stiff — sometimes restricting blood flow to the organs and tissues.
Kinman and Bell recently collaborated for shows and live streams, according to Saving Country Music.
“We came down here to Arizona, to work down here, play some music, and he just took off. He was in the back of the truck,” Kinman told the outlet. “I went in to get something to eat. I came out, and he’d got out of the truck and left.”
Chime was brought into the world in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 27, 1990, and was brought up in Cody, Wyo. “The Bullfighter” singer built a name for himself as a musician in Austin, Texas, New Orleans, and Nashville.
Bell’s family released a statement following the “Where Ya Been?” artist’s death.
“We have lost our dearest child, sibling, and companion and we are devastated. Luke had a delicate heart, a vagabond’s soul, and a melodic gift that he was lucky to impart to us and the world,” the assertion read. “We are so grateful to his friends and fans for embracing Luke and his music. We would like to thank all of Luke’s fans, friends, and family who have been sharing stories and photos of happy times with him.
“Tragically Luke experienced the sickness of dysfunctional behavior, which advanced after his dad’s demise in 2015. Luke was upheld through his sickness by a local area of cherishing loved ones. Despite this, he was unable to receive the help he needed to ease his pain. Our hearts go out to the millions of people affected by mental illness who, like us, understand the devastating disappointment of a system that consistently fails to provide caring solutions to those who suffer.”
In 2016, Bell released a self-titled, 10-song album and performed at the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio, Calif., that same year. He previously spoke to The Times about his start and his approach to music.
“I was standing by listening to individuals like John Prine,” he said, “then I moved to Austin for two or three years and got into the Texas Twisters and that scene. Then I went to New Orleans. I was exclusively there for around a half year. I was living in a molding trailer that smelled of bleach in the Lower Ninth Ward. It was tough.”
Carlos De Loera is an editorial assistant at the Los Angeles Times. He previously worked at The Times as an intern with Arts and Entertainment and at the Houston Chronicle as a features intern. De Loera is an L.A. County native and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he majored in history and minored journalism, ethics, and democracy.