THE Shins' former bassist Neal Langford has been found dead in a creek.
Langford – who was also a renowned hot air balloonist – played on the indie group’s debut album Oh, Inverted World.
The 50-year-old was found dead by cops in a creek near a private dock in Bath, North Carolina, on July 21.
Frontman James Mercer hailed Langford as "invaluable" in an emotional tribute alongside a black and white photo of Langford.
The pair were in 1990s band Flake Music together, which then morphed into The Shins.
Mercer wrote on Instagram: "Just want to let you guys know one of the best friends I’ve ever had has passed.
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"He was in several bands with me including the Shins. A very important figure in my life you could say.
"I mean this is the guy who talked me into getting over my shyness and up on the stage. He put me in front of the microphone!
"There’s too much to the story but I loved him. And I owe him a lot.
"Neal Langford you were always loved and you always will be."
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The Shins released a couple of EPs before their first single New Slang and debut album followed in 2001.
Before the band's success contributing to the soundtrack for 2004 film Garden State, Langford had left the group.
Shins former Jesse Sandoval previously hinted that Langford was booted out of the band because of his love of hot air ballooning.
He told the Portland Mercury: "Neal was into ballooning but he didn’t choose ballooning over the Shins.
"He got fired. My phone call was very parallel to Neal’s call back in the day.
"The way Neal got fired was no different from the way I got fired."
By 2012, however, Langford and ex-Shins keyboardist Marty Crandell kickstarted their own group, Sad Baby Wolf.
And after moving to Bath, Langford started a company called IBX Ballon Fights in 2018.
Cops are investigating Langford's death but do not suspect foul play, reports WITN.
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