AFTER THE BURIAL Guitarist JUSTIN LOWE Found Dead After Being Reported Missing

Justin Lowe, former guitarist for the Twin Cities, Minnesota metalcore band AFTER THE BURIAL, was found dead Tuesday (July 21) near the St. Croix River. He was 32 years old.

Lowe was reported missing July 18 and his body was found three days later by a hiker under the Arcola High Bridge connecting Minnesota and Somerset, Wisconsin. St. Croix County authorities told the River Falls Journal web site that foul play was not suspected and the cause of death was consistent with a fall.

Lowe's vehicle was found at a parking lot on the Minnesota side of the bridge, which St. Croix County Chief Deputy Scott Knudson said was the focus of a search on July 18.

Lowe recently announced he had quit AFTER THE BURIAL via a rambling, lengthy message posted to Facebook. In it, he accused "the record label, our manager, band, and who knows who else" of destroying his data, stealing from him and causing him physical harm. The band followed up with a Facebook post that read, in part: "This is a very sad and hurtful situation for us to grasp, and unfortunately it is one we still don't fully understand. Our dear friend, our brother onstage and off, has fallen into a very broken state of mind. A state that, despite our continued efforts, we have been powerless to get him out of."

Lowe founded AFTER THE BURIAL in 2004 and went on to record four albums with the group, with the most recent two, 2010's "In Dreams" and 2013's "Wolves Within", landing on the Billboard hard rock chart.

Note: Lowe is pictured all the way left in the photo above.