Cole Brings Plenty, the actor known for appearing on the Yellowstone
prequel series 1923, has been found dead at 27 after going missing and being
sought by Kansas police in connection with an alleged domestic violence incident.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Friday that deputies had been dispatched to an unoccupied vehicle in the area of 200th and Homestead Lane. “Deputies checked the area and discovered a deceased male in a wooded area away from the vehicle,” authorities said. “The deceased male has been identified as Cole Brings Plenty, 27.”
Investigators and the medical examiner were on the scene Friday afternoon, and the investigation is ongoing. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told Entertainment Weekly that no additional information was available.
Brings Plenty’s father, Joe Brings Plenty Sr., said Friday evening in a statement to EW, “I am deeply saddened to confirm that my son, Cole, has been found and is no longer with us. 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.”
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On Tuesday, the Lawrence Police Department announced that it had “submitted an affidavit to the District Attorney for the arrest of Cole Brings Plenty after an incident Sunday morning at an apartment in Lawrence. We’ve identified him as the suspect, have probable cause for his arrest, and issued an alert to area agencies.”
The department said that officers initially responded to reports of a woman screaming for help, but the suspect fled before they arrived at the scene. Because the matter involved an allegation of domestic violence, authorities did not provide further details so as to protect the alleged victim.
Brings Plenty’s family members, including his uncle Moses Brings Plenty — a fellow actor who plays Mo on Yellowstone — had also reported Cole as a missing person and sought help finding him on social media.
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Michelle Shining Elk, a spokesperson for the Brings Plenty family, said Wednesday in a statement to EW that they had been unable to contact Cole, and that his disappearance was “uncharacteristic” and “deeply concerning,” but urged the public not to jump to conclusions. “Regardless of the speculations, concrete evidence that Cole is on the run does not exist, and we urge everyone to refrain from making unfounded claims,” the statement said. “We must allow the legal system to determine truth and justice — assigning guilt because someone is missing is not helpful to either party or the due process to which each of us has a right.”
In addition to playing sheep herder Pete Plenty Clouds in two episodes of 1923, Brings Plenty’s TV credits included The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger and Into the Wild Frontier.
