The death of a Killeen realtor whose body was found along a rural road was a suicide, according to a preliminary autopsy report released Thursday.

Christopher Alley Lee, 28, was last seen on Aug. 26, his parents said.

A ranch hand found his body on Aug. 30 off Shanklin Road in Bell County.

Killeen police spokeswoman Ofelia Miramontez said a "cooperative investigation" with the Bell County Sheriff's Office led to the discovery of the body.

The preliminary autopsy report released Thursday says the cause of Lee's death was a gunshot wound and the manner of death was suicide.

"A weapon was recovered at the crime scene with the body and the investigation into the owner and purchase of the weapon has been forwarded to ATF for a tracking of the weapon owner (and) purchase," Bell County sheriff's Maj. T.J. Cruz said in a press release Thursday.

Lee's family and the real estate firm for which he worked issued a statement Thursday on Facebook in which they said "While it is always good to have answers and closure, we aren't always happy with the answers we receive."