An investigation is underway following the death of a Kansas prison inmate.

According to the Kansas Department of Corrections, Lansing Correctional Facility resident Robert Edwin Blanchette, 44, died Monday. He was found unresponsive in his cell. Staff and Emergency Medical Service personnel administered life-saving measures but were unable to revive him.

The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy.

Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections, the death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

Blanchette was serving a life sentence for convictions of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the commission of a crime in Reno County.