Film & TV3 min(s) read
Published 10:53 01 Jun 2026 GMT
Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown has died at the age of 43 after his body was recovered from a river in Washington state, according to his brother, Bear Brown.
Bear confirmed Saturday that authorities identified a body found in the Okanogan River as Matt after days of uncertainty surrounding his disappearance.
"They found a body in the river a few hours ago and it was positively identified as being Matt," Bear said in an update on TikTok.
The reality TV star's death comes after a search operation was launched earlier in the week when reports emerged that a man had been seen in or near the river before being swept away by the current. Authorities later recovered a firearm from the area where the man was last seen.
Bear revealed that Noah Brown, the youngest of the seven Brown siblings, was the first family member to see Matt's body and assisted with recovery efforts.
"Noah helped them pull the body out of the water and Noah identified [Matt]," he said.
Bear said he believes his brother died by suicide, though he noted that the coroner has yet to complete an examination and an official cause of death has not been determined.
"I would've never thought that Matt would hurt himself. It does look as though it was self-inflicted," Bear said, adding that his brother had been struggling with alcohol and drug addiction, along with "other issues" he had kept private.
The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office said it received a 911 call on Wednesday from someone who reported seeing a male sitting in a shallow area of the Okanogan River. According to authorities, the caller later heard a sound, found the man face down in the water and watched as he was swept away.
A search operation was launched but crews were initially unable to locate the man. Efforts were later suspended because of dangerous river conditions.
Days before the body was identified, Bear shared what he described as "some really bad news" on TikTok, saying he had been told Matt "took his own life" but could not yet confirm the reports.
At the time, he said Matt had been seen "in a river, at a river or close to a river" before later being spotted "floating down the river."
"All the witnesses are saying that it was Matt," he said. "Someone definitely did, and a lot of people are thinking that it's him … It looks like it is … It's looking very likely that it is the case."
Bear also pushed back against claims that the family had distanced itself from Matt in recent years, saying instead that Matt "didn't want anything to do with the family."
He added that Matt had recently been dealing with a difficult breakup.
"I guess he had been drinking too much. I don't know all the details to it," he said.
Concern about Matt's wellbeing grew last week after he posted a YouTube livestream showing himself nude, speaking incoherently and carrying what appeared to be a firearm.
Matt appeared in 79 episodes of Alaskan Bush People between 2014 and 2019 alongside his parents, Billy and Ami Brown, and his siblings. The Discovery Channel series followed the Brown family as they lived off the grid in the wilderness.
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