Investigation closes as body identified

Suicide has been ruled as cause of death for the previously unidentified man found in northeast Phillips County in mid-June.

Phillips County Sheriff Thom Elliott reported Tuesday, July 21, that the investigation has been closed.

The body has been identified as Bradley R. Dye, a 56-year-old white male from Castle Rock.

His vehicle was found abandoned at the Family Dollar store in Holyoke this past Saturday, July 18. Elliott reported they also recovered other personal property in the vehicle, including financial information and a suicide note.

Family has been notified.

The body was found on an abandoned farmstead near county roads 57 and 40 (2 miles south of the Sedgwick County line and 4 miles west of the Nebraska state line) on June 13, and he reportedly died from a gunshot wound.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to the report of a body with a gun in an abandoned building. After investigating, they reported suspecting it had been there since the second week of  February.

A photographer who was taking photos in the remote rural area discovered the body.