Luke Bell was reported missing on August 20 in Tucson, Arizona. The body of the 32-year-old singer was found six days later. The cause of death is now known: Bell died of fentanyl poisoning, a coroner said.
According to the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy report, Bell was found by passers-by in a parking garage in Tucson. They had tried in vain to speak to him. Marks on Bell’s body also indicate an attempt to revive him by officers who found him. Aside from these marks, Bell shows no other signs of internal or external injuries. The report also states that 21 nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter were measured in his blood.
The investigation is still ongoing
Richard Gradillas of the Tucson Police Department told Cowboy State Daily Sept. 19 that the investigation into Bell’s death was ongoing. The police are trying to find out where Bell was before he died. He went on to say that he wasn’t sure how much fentanyl Bell would have had to consume to poison his body, but it didn’t take much to seriously hurt or even kill someone. “With fentanyl, something as small as the point of a pen can kill. It’s a deadly drug,” the police officer said.
Bell traveled a lot
Bell’s friends and colleagues remember him as a nice young man who “lighted up a room” when he walked in. His colleague Kalyn Beasley said his music career began playing small gigs at local bars: “Like probably a lot of us musicians, Luke wasn’t particularly interested in going to class. So he started playing bars,” Beasley told Cowboy State Daily. She also said that he traveled a lot: “There are people who do that. They ride the train and write songs about it, sing old folk songs and live outside the scene, so to speak. And Luke did that.”
“I was just overwhelmed”
Bell spent most of his time in Austin, Texas before relocating to Nashville, Tennessee for his music career in the early 2010s. “I didn’t know he was musically gifted until he got back from his stay in Austin. And he just came back with a plethora of songs that told his stories. And I was just blown away,” said his high school friend Mike Vanata.
In 2014, Bell released his debut album, Don’t Mind If I Do. Two years later he was signed to the Thirty Tigers label and released his second album, Luke Bell. Before releasing his last single “Jealous Guy” in 2021, he retired from the music scene for a few years.