FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2009 file photo, cast members, from left, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley, Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Mark Salling pose for photographers... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2009 file photo, cast members, from left, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley, Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Mark Salling pose for photographers during The Gleek Tour for the television show "Glee" in Los Angeles. Salling, one of the stars... (Associated Press) 
 
 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Salling, who played bad-boy Noah "Puck" Puckerman in the hit musical-comedy "Glee," died of an apparent suicide Tuesday, weeks after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography. He was 35. 
 
 Salling pleaded guilty in December after authorities said a search of his computer and a thumb drive found more than 50,000 images of child porn. He was scheduled to be sentenced March 7, and prosecutors planned to ask a judge to send him to prison for four to seven years. 
 
 A law enforcement official not authorized to speak publicly said Salling was found hanging in a riverbed area in the Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles. The official said the actor's death is being investigated as a suicide. 
 
 The Los Angeles Police Department said Salling was reported missing about 3 a.m. Tuesday. 
 
 "I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning," the actor's attorney, Michael J. Proctor, said in an email to The Associated Press. He did not reveal the cause of death. 
 
 "Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment," Proctor said, adding the actor's family asked that its request for privacy be respected. 
 
 The darkly handsome actor had appeared in only a handful of projects before his breakout role in "Glee," the popular Fox TV series about students in a high school glee club and their circle of family and friends. It aired from 2009-15. 
 
 Earlier credits included 1996's "Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering," a 1999 guest role on the Chuck Norris series "Walker, Texas Ranger" and a part in the 2014 TV movie "Rocky Road." 
 
 A singer-songwriter as well as actor, he released two albums: "Smoke Signals" in 2008 and "Pipe Dreams" in 2010. 
 
 Following "Pipe Dreams'," release, Salling told The Associated Press he had been a singer-songwriter long before he became an actor. 
 
 "I put out a record before. It went triple cardboard," he joked. "I was very excited about selling 125 units for that but you know this is something I've been doing my whole life. It's not something that I just decided to randomly do now. This is not the first. It won't be the last. And I hope people enjoy it and have something to look forward to for the next round." 
 
 He said he chose the album's songs from 50 to 60 he had compiled over several years. 
 
 Salling's character on "Glee" was a member of the school's football team who ends up joining the glee club. One of his character's friends was another jock-turned-singer, Finn Hudson, who was played by Cory Monteith. 
 
 Monteith died in 2013 from a toxic mix of alcohol and heroin, according to a coroner's finding. 
 
 Mark Wayne Salling was born Aug. 17, 1982, in Dallas, the youngest child of John Salling, an accountant, and his wife, Condy, a school secretary. 
 
 Like his character on "Glee," Salling was a jock, taking part in wrestling, rugby, basketball and other school sports when he wasn't playing guitar or piano. By high school he was playing gigs in local bars. 
 
 Soon after finishing school he moved to California to pursue an acting and music career and to study guitar at the Los Angeles Music Academy. 
 
 After seven years of failing to land any substantial roles, and having released just one album, Salling was ready to give up when his older brother, Matt, exhorted him to keep trying. Soon after he landed the role on "Glee," where he quickly captivated audiences. His performance of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" even won praise from Diamond himself. 
 
 Salling said his own musical preferences covered a wide range from jazz to country to rock, pop and hip-hop. He cited Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails as among his musical influences. 
 
 He is survived by his parents and brother. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press Television Writer Lynn Elber contributed to this story. 
 
 ___ 
 
 This story has been corrected to show that Salling's body was found in a riverbed area in the Tujunga area, not a home. ||||| Mark Salling has died in an apparent suicide weeks before being sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography. He was 35. 
 
 “I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning. Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment,” his attorney Michael Proctor tells PEOPLE. “He is survived by his mother and father, and his brother. The Salling family appreciates the support they have been receiving and asks for their privacy to be respected.” 
 
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 “He was found hanging from a tree in the area of the Los Angeles River in Sunland,” Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter tells PEOPLE. Salling was pronounced dead at the scene at 9 a.m. Tuesday and his body is at the coroner’s office. According to Winter, his relatives have been notified of the death and an autopsy is scheduled for the next few days. 
 
 An LAPD PIO told PEOPLE that officers responded to a death investigation at the 11900 block of Big Tujunga Cyn Road Tuesday morning at 8:50 a.m. but could not identify Salling. 
 
 The Glee star pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor Oct. 4, 2017. After striking a plea deal in December, he was due to be sentenced in March and expected to serve four to seven years in prison. 
 
 “Mark is focused on accepting responsibility and attempting to atone for his conduct,” Proctor said in a statement to PEOPLE at the time. 
 
 Mark Salling Jason Kempin/Getty 
 
 Federal investigators say they found more than 25,000 images and 600 videos depicting child pornography on computers and thumb drives that belonged to Salling. The content depicted children as young as 3 years old being abused, according to court documents. 
 
 Salling had to register as a sex offender and enter a treatment program; have no verbal or electronic contact with anyone under the age of 18; stay 100 feet away from schools, parks, public swimming pools, youth centers, playgrounds and arcades; and pay $50,000 in restitution to each victim, according to the documents. 
 
 Salling was arrested in December 2015 after investigators said the laptop, a hard drive, and a USB flash drive seized from his residence allegedly contained thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography. (His former girlfriend called police, according to the court documents.) In May 2016, he was named in a two-count indictment alleging he received porn involving young girls. But the trial was delayed that June as he sought new legal representation. 
 
 Born in Dallas, Texas, Salling played jock Noah “Puck” Puckerman on the hit Fox show Glee from 2009-15. His other credits include a guest-role in Walker, Texas Ranger in 1999 and the TV Movie Rocky Road in 2014. 
 
 If you or someone you know is showing warning signs of suicide, consider contacting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK, texting the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or seeking help from a professional. 
 
 If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). ||||| The actor's death was ruled a suicide, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner. 
 
 Mark Salling has died by suicide, a Los Angeles County Coroner's public information officer confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. He was 35. 
 
 The cause of death was ruled asphyxia by hanging, the officer said. Salling's body was discovered around 10:17 a.m. near a riverbed a mile east of Big Tujunga Canyon in Sunland. The autopsy is currently being completed, and will be available within a few days. 
 
 The former Glee star had recently pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. His sentencing was scheduled for March 7. 
 
 Salling reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in October after admitting he possessed images of prepubescent children. A search warrant found more than 50,000 images of child porn on his computer and a thumb drive. 
 
 Salling was facing between four to seven years in prison. He would also have been required to register as a sex offender. 
 
 The actor played bad boy Noah "Puck" Puckerman on all six seasons of Ryan Murphy's musical dramedy, which aired on Fox from 2009 to 2015. 
 
 Feb. 1, 10:50 a.m. Updated with information about the investigation from the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. 
 
 Katie Kilkenny contributed to this report. ||||| Mark Salling Dead From Suicide by Hanging 
 
 'Glee' Star Mark Salling Dead at 35 From Suicide by Hanging (UPDATE) 
 
 EXCLUSIVE 
 
 11:05 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us Salling's body was found hanging from a tree. 
 
 10:45 AM PT -- We're told police received a call to do a "welfare check" on Salling and somehow that led them to the baseball field where his body was found. We're told Salling had been dead for some time. 
 
 Our sources say a family member came to the LAPD station at 3 AM Tuesday to report Salling as a missing person. 
 
 We're told homicide detectives are on scene to rule out foul play, but they say all signs point to suicide by hanging. 
 
 Mark Salling committed suicide by hanging, according to law enforcement ... TMZ has learned. 
 
 We're told his body was found near a riverbed in Sunland ... the area where he lived. Law enforcement tells us Salling was hanging from a tree. 
 
 We've learned the address where Salling was found dead near a little league field adjacent to a creek. 
 
 The former "Glee" star was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography involving prepubescent minors. 
 
 Prosecutors say he had 50,000 images of underage children. 
 
 Sentencing in the case was set for March. He was expected to get 4 to 7 years in prison as part of a plea deal. 
 
 TMZ broke the story ... Salling had cut his wrists back in August and it appeared to be a suicide attempt, although his lawyer denied it. 
 
 Salling was 35.
– Former Glee actor Mark Salling is dead at age 35, a source confirms to the Hollywood Reporter. It wasn't able to obtain a cause of death, but TMZ is reporting the death is an apparent suicide ahead of Salling's sentencing for child pornography. A law enforcement official in Los Angeles tells the AP that Salling was found hanging after being reported missing about 3am Tuesday. TMZ reports his body was found in a baseball field, hanging from a tree. "I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning," says the actor's attorney, Michael Proctor. "Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment," he adds. Salling, known to Glee fans as Noah "Puck" Puckerman, was scheduled to be sentenced March 7 following his guilty plea on child porn charges. He was facing four to seven years. Salling was arrested in late 2015 after child-porn images were found on his computer, with the Hollywood Reporter noting a search warrant uncovered more than 50,000 such images there and on a thumb drive. People notes that per court documents, a former girlfriend had tipped off police.