Country Artist Luke Bell Reported Missing in Tucson

***UPDATE — Country Artist, Cowboy, and Troubadour Luke Bell Has Died at the Age of 32

Friends of country artist Luke Bell are raising concerns after he went missing over a week ago on Saturday, August 20th near 4th Ave. in Tucson, Arizona. Bell hasn’t been seen or heard from since. There is a possibility he is still in the area, or he could have left the Tucson area and Arizona entirely. The public is being asked to keep an eye out for the songwriter, and let authorities and fellow artist Matt Kinman know if they see him, or if they have any information about his whereabouts. Luke Bell suffers from bipolar disorder.

Bell had recently been in his hometown of Cody, Wyoming with Matt Kinman, who has been playing with and caring for Luke Bell for the last six years. Matt Kinman tells Saving Country Music that after Wyoming, “…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. I went in to get something to eat. I came out, and he’d got out of the truck and left.”

This is not the first time Luke Bell has disappeared, but according to his manager Brian Buchanan, Bell had been doing well for the last 1 1/2 years, and had remained in contact. There was recently a change in Luke’s medication, which Matt Kinman worries could have played a role in his disappearance.

“He could be in Tucson. But it’s possible he jumped a freight train, and who knows where he’s going,” says Kinman. “If someone sees him, get him to a hospital immediately, get a hold of me, and we’ll come after him.”

Matt Kinman can be reached at mattkinman71 at gmail dot com, or reach out via Saving Country Music’s Contact Page, and Kinman’s phone number will be supplied.

When he’s right, he’s one of the best people you’ll ever know. When he’s sick, well, this is what you get,” says Kinman. “He’s not done with music. He wants to do music. And when he’s right, he’s been writing music, and wanting to perform.”

Luke Bell was one of the most authentic voices to emerge in country music in the last decade when he released a debut album on Bandcamp in 2014. He then caught national attention when he signed with WME and Thirty Tigers, and began opening shows for names like Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., and Dwight Yoakam. But a tour set to occur after the re-release of his debut album in 2016 never happened, and aside from some spotty shows here and there with Matt Kinman, Luke Bell has remained mostly out of the spotlight.

Luke Bell recently appeared with Martha Spencer covering Guy Clark’s “Dublin Blues.”

***UPDATE — Country Artist, Cowboy, and Troubadour Luke Bell Has Died at the Age of 32

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