Matt Brown, known for his work on the Discovery Channel reality TV show “Alaskan Bush People,” was found dead on June 1. Now, his official cause of death has been revealed.
“Alaskan Bush People” star Matt Brown (Credit: Matt Brown/YouTube)
The coroner’s office has listed his official cause of death as a “single penetrating gunshot wound to the head,” and said that the reality TV star died by suicide, according to TMZ. Matt’s autopsy also revealed that there were methamphetamines in his system when he took his life, and that “subsequent immersion in water (river)” contributed to his passing. He was 42 years old.
“Alaskan Bush People” star Matt Brown (Credit: Matt Brown/YouTube)
Matt’s brother, Bear, shared the sad news in an Instagram video. “They found a body in the river a few hours ago, and it was positively identified as being Matt.” He added that his youngest brother, Noah, helped authorities pull Matt’s body from the river and identify him.
“I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself, honestly,” Bear said. “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.”
A day later, Bear posted a lengthy Instagram caption alongside of a photo of him and Matt. “To millions of viewers, Matt was known as one of the original stars of ‘Alaskan Bush People.’ To us, he was so much more,” he wrote. “Matt was intelligent, curious, creative, and endlessly fascinated by the world around him. He was a gifted outdoorsman, fisherman, boatman, artist, and lifelong learner. He loved adventure, nature, and discovering new things. Matt had an extraordinary mind. He taught himself sign language, studied Egyptian hieroglyphs, petroglyphs, and Sanskrit, learned conversational Spanish, and could spend hours mastering a new skill simply for the joy of understanding it.”
The post continued, “Those who truly knew Matt knew his heart. He was compassionate, generous with his time, and deeply wanted to help others. During periods of sobriety and recovery, he openly shared his struggles with addiction and mental health through his videos and personal outreach. He encouraged others to seek help, offered hope to people fighting similar battles, and reminded them they were not alone. We are incredibly proud of the lives he touched.”
“Alaskan Bush People” star Matt Brown (Credit: Matt Brown/YouTube)
Regarding his brother’s mental health journey, Bear wrote, “Matt’s life was not without mistakes, struggles, and painful chapters. Some of those chapters caused hurt, and we do not minimize that. At the same time, we do not believe any person’s life should be defined solely by their lowest moments. When we think of Matt, we will remember the young man who loved the wilderness, could navigate rough waters, draw for hours, lose himself in learning, make us laugh unexpectedly, and dream bigger than most people ever dared. He was imperfect. He was human. He was deeply loved. And he will be missed beyond words.”
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