'Alaskan Bush People' Star Matt Brown Found Dead, Brother Says
Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown has died, according to his brother, Bear Brown.
On Saturday, May 30, Bear took to social media to confirm that authorities have recovered Matt's body, three days after someone reported seeing him near the Okanogan River.
"They found a body in the river a few hours ago, and it was positively identified as Matt. [Our brother] Noah [Brown] was with them and helped them pull the body out of the water," Bear said on TikTok.
@bearthekingofextreme Matt update… #alaskanbushpeople#thelifeofbear#fyp#bearthekingofextreme @Noah Brown
♬ original sound - Bear Brown
"I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself, honestly," Bear continued, visibly emotional. "He struggled for a long time."
Bear went on to say that it does "appear as though the injury is self-inflicted." Authorities have not yet released a cause of death.
The tragic news comes just days after Bear uploaded another TikTok video in which he said that he had reason to believe that Matt, 43, "took his own life."
The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office said it received a call about the body of an unidentified male floating down the river with the current. Authorities launched a search and rescue effort, but it was called off on May 30 due to "dangerous river conditions and pending information to focus search efforts," according to a press release posted on the official Facebook page of the OCSO.
In an earlier update posted by TMZ, a family member allegedly claimed they saw Matt near Driscoll Island Wildlife Area in Oroville, Washington-about a mile from the Okanogan River.
Matt was on Alaskan Bush People from 2014 until 2019. Though the show continued through 2022, Matt had left to enter rehab for addiction, according to The Sun.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 12:03 AM.