Matt Brown, one of the original stars of Discovery’s Alaskan Bush People, has died. The 42-year-old’s body was discovered in the Okanogan River in Washington state on May 30—just three days after his family reported him missing.
His brother Bear first announced the reality star’s death on social media on May 31, with brother Noah subsequently confirming that he was the one who identified Matt after his body was recovered. He was found after kayakers spotted his jacket in the water.
“It is with broken hearts that we share the loss of our beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend, Matthew Brown,” Matt’s family said in a statement on Instagram. “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.”
Here’s what we know about Matt Brown’s life and death.
Who Was Matt Brown?
The eldest of seven children, Matt Brown was the son of Billy and Ami Brown, whose isolationist lifestyle became the premise of the wilderness reality show Alaskan Bush People. Living off the grid in remote Alaska with siblings Joshua “Bam Bam,” Solomon “Bear,” Gabe, Noah, Amora Jean “Snowbird,” and Merry Christmas Kathryn “Rain,” Matt appeared on the show’s first eight seasons, beginning in 2014.
After publicly struggling with alcohol and substance abuse issues, he went to rehab for the first time in 2016. “I started drinking lightly and then it got to be more and more,” he told People magazine at the time. “That’s when I saw the problem around the corner, and I didn’t want to be one of those guys.”
In 2019, Matt permanently left the series to focus on his sobriety, largely staying out of the spotlight. Following his exit, he would occasionally provide updates about his life in Washington on YouTube.
How Did Matt Brown Die?
While his exact cause of death is currently unknown, Matt’s family suspects he died by suicide. A loud sound was reportedly heard before his body fell into the water, and a gun was later found near the scene. “It does look as though the entry is self-inflicted,” Bear said in a TikTok video, suggesting there was a gunshot wound.
Bear revealed that his brother, who he had last seen at a Walmart, had recently relapsed. “I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself, honestly,” he 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.”
Catherine Caruso joined the Biography.com staff in August 2024, having previously worked as a freelance journalist for several years. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she studied English literature. When she’s not working on a new story, you can find her reading, hitting the gym, or watching too much TV.
