Matt Brown from Alaskan Bush People was found dead in Washington's Okanogan River on May 30, according to an announcement from his brother Bear Brown. He was 43.
Bear revealed the news on TikTok, saying that his youngest brother Noah was the first family member to identify Matt's body in the water. "They found a body in the river a few hours ago," Bear said, "and it was positively identified as being Matt."
While the coroner still needs to complete an official examination, Bear believes his brother died by suicide. "I would've never suspected he would have hurt himself, honestly," he shared, noting that Matt had struggled for a long time. "I was so worried he was gonna end up OD'd or something like that. I didn't think that he would hurt himself."
The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office confirmed receiving a call about a man in the river's shallows. According to the press release, a witness heard a sound, turned back, and saw the man face down in the water. Despite swift response from law enforcement, fire, and EMS, they were unable to locate him initially. A firearm was recovered at the scene.
In his statement, Bear acknowledged the hateful comments Matt received on social media over the years, asking online users to be respectful to the family. "People that you're watching a video of, they're real people, too," he said, asking followers to watch what they post.
This came one day after Bear shared his initial concerns about Matt in a May 29 TikTok, where he revealed he'd heard concerning reports about an incident near the river.
