'Alaskan Bush People' Star Matt Brown Dead at 43; Coroner Rules Death a Suicide

Contributing factors included being under the influence of methamphetamine and his subsequent immersion in a river.

Published: 6/4/2026, 5:44:57 PM EDT

'Alaskan Bush People' Star Matt Brown Dead at 43; Coroner Rules Death a Suicide — The emergency room at a hospital in Tucson, Ariz., on Nov. 5, 2019. (Sebastien Vuagnat/AFP via Getty Images)

Matt Brown, the eldest son of the Brown family and a longtime cast member of the Discovery Channel reality series "Alaskan Bush People," died by suicide, the Okanogan County Coroner confirmed. He was 43.

The coroner's office told NTD News Thursday that Brown's cause of death was a gunshot wound. Contributing factors included being under the influence of methamphetamine and his subsequent immersion in a river.

Brown's body was recovered from a river in Okanogan County, Washington, days after his family first raised alarm that he had gone missing. His brother Bear Brown was among the first to publicly address his disappearance, posting a video to his verified social media accounts on May 28 in which he told viewers that Matt had been spotted near a river and that witnesses reported seeing him at or close to the water. At the time, Bear said he had been told Matt took his own life, though he was unable to confirm it with certainty.

In the early hours of May 31, Bear Brown returned to social media to deliver the news that his brother's body had been found and positively identified.

"They found a body in the river a few hours ago, and it was positively identified as being Matt," Bear said. "Noah was with them and helped them pull the body out of the water, and Noah identified him."

Brother Noah Brown separately confirmed in his own social media video that he had been part of the search-and-rescue effort that retrieved the body, and that Matt had his ID and Social Security card on him at the time.

Bear Brown also reflected on his brother's long struggle with addiction, recalling that one of their final conversations revolved around Matt admitting he had relapsed. "He had fallen off the wagon," Bear recounted. "I was like, 'Well, get back on it, man. Everybody falls off. Just get back on it. Go to rehab if you've got to. You've got this.'"

In a joint statement posted to Instagram on May 31, Bear and Josh Brown asked the public to remember their brother with compassion. "Matt was intelligent, curious, creative, and endlessly fascinated by the world around him," the statement read. "He was a gifted outdoorsman, fisherman, boatman, artist, and lifelong learner."

The family's tribute also acknowledged Matt's years-long battle with mental health and addiction—struggles he had, at times, shared openly with his online following. "During periods of sobriety and recovery, he openly shared his struggles with addiction and mental health through his videos and personal outreach," the statement said, noting that he "encouraged others to seek help, offered hope to people fighting similar battles, and reminded them they were not alone."

Matt Brown rose to prominence through "Alaskan Bush People," which aired on the Discovery Channel for 14 seasons between 2014 and 2022. The series chronicled the Brown family's remote lifestyle in Alaska.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988.