The lead singer and songwriter of the Scottish folk-rock band had been missing for days and said to be in a “fragile state.”
Scott Hutchison, the lead singer and songwriter of the Scottish folk-rock band Frightened Rabbit, was found dead on Thursday near South Queensferry, Scotland, the Edinburgh police confirmed, after a days-long search for the musician, who was said to be in a “fragile state.”
The police could not immediately identify a cause of death, but said it was not being treated as suspicious.
Mr. Hutchison, 36, had not been seen since the early morning hours on Wednesday, when he left a hotel in South Queensferry after sending two cryptic messages on Twitter. He wrote: “Be so good to everyone you love. It’s not a given. I’m so annoyed that it’s not. I didn’t live by that standard and it kills me. Please, hug your loved ones,” and “I’m away now. Thanks.”
The next day, his bandmates appealed to fans on social media: “We are worried about Scott, who has been missing for a little while now. He may be in a fragile state and may not be making the best decisions for himself right now.”
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In a statement released through the local police on Thursday, Mr. Hutchison’s family cited the singer’s ongoing struggles with mental health, a frequent topic in both his music and interviews.
“Depression is a horrendous illness that does not give you any alert or indication as to when it will take hold of you,” the family said. “Scott battled bravely with his own issues for many years and we are immensely proud of him for being so open with his struggles.”
They added: “Scott, like many artists, wore his heart on his sleeve and that was evident in the lyrics of his music and the content of many of his social media posts. He was passionate, articulate and charismatic, as well as being one of the funniest and kindest people we knew.”
Mr. Hutchison, whose plaintive voice would often sound close to breaking, released five albums with Frightened Rabbit since 2006 and had been signed to Atlantic Records since 2010. Earlier this year, the band completed a tour celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its breakthrough album, “The Midnight Organ Fight,” which chronicled a devastating breakup.
“I’m working on my faults and cracks/filling in the blanks and gaps,” Mr. Hutchison sang on “My Backwards Walk,” in lyrics that were representative of his work. “And when I write them out they don’t make sense/I need you to pencil in the rest.”
Mr. Hutchison, who was born in the Scottish town of Selkirk, studied illustration at the Glasgow School of Art and often did the artwork for Frightened Rabbit releases. In 2014, he released a solo album under the name Owl John, and he had recently formed a new group, Mastersystem, that included his brother Grant, the drummer in Frightened Rabbit.
Fellow Scottish musicians shared their condolences on social media. “Tragic news about Scott Hutchison,” Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian wrote on Twitter. “The whole music community in Scotland was praying for a different outcome.”
In a recent interview with Noisey, looking back on his musical discography, Mr. Hutchison spoke about locating the hope in some of his saddest songs.
Discussing “Floating in the Forth” from “The Midnight Organ Fight” — “fully clothed, I float away/down the Forth, into the sea/I think I’ll save suicide for another day,” he sings — Mr. Hutchison said: “It’s a real thought. It’s a thought that I’ve taken to a place that I’m far less comfortable with… I’ve gone 90 percent of the way through that song in real life. But at the same time it’s gratifying. It’s heartening to know that I’ve been through that, and I’m stood there performing that song, alive and feeling good about it.”
He added: “I’m drawn to negatives in life, and I dwell on them, and they consume me.”
In another interview published this week, Mr. Hutchison was adamant about his belief in the power of music, as both a songwriter and a listener. “Music and lyric writing helps me to process the world, to understand the way I feel and the things that happen in my life,” he said. “It’s such a privilege to be able to do this full time. I really try not to take it for granted and for me, there’s no greater feeling than bringing a new piece of music into the world, almost out of thin air.”
