Reality TV star dead at 43 after body recovered from Washington river
Jun 1, 2026, 7:09 AM
A screenshot of Matt Brown in one of his YouTube video blogs after he exited "Alaskan Bush People." (Photo courtesy of Matt Brown's YouTube Channel)
(Photo courtesy of Matt Brown's YouTube Channel)
Matt Brown, the eldest son of the Brown family featured in Discovery Channel’s reality-documentary series “Alaskan Bush People,” is confirmed dead after his body was recovered from a Washington river.
Matt, who appeared in the series from 2014 until 2019, was 43 years old.
” A group of private citizens conducting a search along the Okanogan River located a deceased individual in the river,” the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office stated. “The individual was recovered and brought to shore, where he was positively identified as Matthew Brown. Matthew Brown has been transferred into the custody and care of the Okanogan County Coroner.”
On Saturday, Matt’s brother, Bear Brown, took to social media to talk about the loss of his brother, acknowledging that Matt had a history of struggling with addiction that caused him to be estranged from his family and exit the reality-documentary series.
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“He called me after that, and he said that he had fallen off the wagon,” Bear said in his social media post. “And I was like, ‘Well, get back on it, man. Everybody falls off. Just get back on it. Go to rehab if you’ve got to. You’ve got this.'”
While the coroner’s office is still determining the cause and manner of death, Bear said in his video that Matt’s injury looks like it was self-inflicted.
“They found a body in the river a few hours ago, and it was positively identified as being Matt,” Bear said in his video. “I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself, honestly. He struggled for a long time, as I’ve mentioned, and I worried he was going to end up, like, OD’d or something like that. I didn’t think he would hurt himself.”
Matt built a following on YouTube after he left the Discovery Channel show, posting videos documenting his life and recovery journey. He is survived by his mother, Ami; his brothers, Joshua, Solomon Isaiah, Gabriel, and Noah Brown; his sisters, Amora Jean and Merry Christmas Kathryn Raindrop.
His father, Billy, the patriarch of the family on the reality television show, died in 2021.
“The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office extends its condolences to Mr. Brown’s family and loved ones during this difficult time,” Jodie Barcus, the interim Okanogan County Sheriff, said. “No further information is being released at this time pending the ongoing investigation.”
“Alaskan Bush People” is currently on an extended hiatus and has not aired new episodes since December 2022.
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