Matt Brown has been found dead at the age of 42. He was best known for his role as a TV personality on the Discovery Channel series Alaskan Bush People. Matt’s brother, Bear Brown, has since released a statement via a video posted on Instagram.
“There’s an update about Matt,” Bear said to begin the video. “They found a body in the river a few hours ago and it was positively identified as being Matt. Noah was with them and helped them pull the body out of the water, and Noah identified them.”
Despite Matt’s personal battles, Bear continued by noting that he never expected him to self-harm; unfortunately, it does appear that the injuries are self-inflicted.
“I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself, honestly,” Bear continued. “He struggled for a long time, as I’ve mentioned, and I was so worried he was gonna end up OD’d or something like that. I didn’t think that he would hurt himself. It does look as though the injury is self-inflicted, obviously.”
As the video continued, Bear asked those watching to be respectful of his family during these tough times.
“I would ask people to please, please be respectful to my family and to my mom,” he continued. “And please watch the comments that you leave, guys. Sometimes, words can hurt more than fists can, and a lot of people have left negative comments on Matt’s stuff, too. In one of his last videos, he’s actually talking about how negative people were on his posts. And you guys should keep in mind that people on the other side of your screen, people that you’re watching a video of, they’re real people, too.”
On Thursday, May 28, Bear posted a video to TikTok admitting that he and his family were fearing the worst. They had been informed that Matt had taken his own life. However, his family had no way of confirming that information at the time.
“I’m being told that late last night … Matt took his own life,” Bear said. “Like I said, I can’t confirm that that’s true, but witnesses say that he was seen in a river, at a river, or close to a river, and that he took his own life and they saw him, like, floating down the river.”
Bear also noted that Matt had a history of addiction. “He has been struggling for a long time, you know, with alcohol and drugs and stuff,” Bear said.
Unfortunately, the situation has ended in tragic fashion. No further details regarding Matt’s death have been released. The family may or may not provide further updates in the future. Furthermore, the details regarding Matt’s funeral are likely to remain private. Our condolences go out to his family.
