A young Native American actor, Cole Brings Plenty, had been reported as missing on Easter weekend and was the subject of a search by law enforcement, both because he'd been reported missing by his family but also because he was a suspect in a separate crime.

Unfortunately, Cole's body was discovered by sheriff's deputies in Johnson County, Kansas on Friday, Fox News reported.

Cole, who appeared in a couple of episodes of "1923," the spin-off series of Paramount's hit TV series "Yellowstone," was the nephew of "Yellowstone" star Mo Brings Plenty, who led the effort to find his missing family member over the past several days.

"Deceased male" identified as Cole found by police

On Friday, the Johnson County Sheriff's Office released a statement to announce that deputies had been dispatched that morning to check out an "unoccupied vehicle" and subsequently "discovered a deceased male in a wooded area away from the vehicle" who was identified as Cole Brings Plenty, 27.

The statement noted that crime scene investigators and the medical examiner were on the scene as part of the ongoing investigation and urged the public to contact the sheriff's office if they had any relevant information that might help investigators.

The discovery of Cole's body was also confirmed by the Lawrence Police Department in an update to a prior announcement on Tuesday that Cole was wanted as a suspect in an alleged domestic violence incident.

Local police had filed a probable cause affidavit for an arrest warrant for Cole, who allegedly had been spotted by traffic cameras fleeing the scene of the reported incident just before officers arrived. That announcement also noted that Cole had been reported missing by his family.

Family confirms death in statement

CNN reported that Cole's father, Joe Brings Plenty Sr., and the rest of the family released a statement that said, "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," the statement added.

The outlet further reported that Cole's manager and publicist, Michelle Shining Elk, had said in a statement on Wednesday, "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."

Emerging Native American stars

According to his IMDb page, Cole Brings Plenty had only just begun his career as an actor and had just three acting credits to his name.

Those credits included appearances in two episodes of "1923," one episode of the TV series "The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger," and two episodes of the TV series "Into the Wild Frontier."

As for his uncle who led the frantic search for his missing nephew, Mo Brings Plenty, he is credited with 23 acting credits, including most famously in 39 episodes of "Yellowstone" but also in films like "Cowboys & Aliens," "The Contested Plains," and as a stuntman in "The Revenant," as well as appearances in TV series like "House of Cards," "Hell on Wheels," "The American West," and most recently "Lawman: Bass Reeves."

One day before his missing nephew was found dead, Mo posted a message to Instagram on behalf of the family to express their "heartfelt gratitude" to everyone who had assisted in the search for Cole but also cautioned everyone against jumping to any conclusions about the allegations against him.