The reality TV star’s brother Bear recently said Brown struggled with substance use and had become estranged from his family.

Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown dead at 42, brother Noah helped pull body out of river, says Bear Brown

The reality TV star's brother Bear recently said Brown struggled with substance use and had become estranged from his family.

By Oliver Gettell

Oliver Gettell

Oliver Gettell is a senior news editor at **. He has been at EW since 2015 and previously worked at the Los Angeles Times.

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and Patrick Gomez

Patrick Gomez

Patrick Gomez is an Executive Editor at . Formerly at People magazine and The A.V. Club, the Critics Choice and Television Critics Association member has appeared on ‘Today,’ ‘Extra!,’ ‘Access Hollywood,’ ‘E! News,’ ‘CNN,’ and ‘Nightline,’ and can be seen frequently on ‘Good Morning America.’ Follow the Texas Native at @PatrickGomezLA wherever your media is social for all things ‘For All Mankind’ ‘Top Chef,’ and puppy related.

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May 31, 2026 1:50 a.m. ET

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Matt Brown. Credit:

Matt Brown/Instagram

- *Alaskan Bush People* alum Matt Brown has been found dead at 42.

- Bear Brown recently said that his brother Matt had a history of substance use and had become estranged from his family.

- Matt appeared on early seasons of the reality show but stepped away in 2016 to enter rehab.

Matt Brown, the reality TV personality known for his time on the Discovery Channel series *Alaskan Bush People*, has been found dead in Washington. He was 42.

"They found a body in the river a few hours ago and it was positively identified as being Matt," his brother Bear Brown, 38, said in a video posted on Instagram around midnight ET Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Matt was the eldest of Billy and Ami Brown's seven children. (He had an elder half-sister from his father's earlier relationship.) Bear went on to detail that their youngest brother, Noah, 33, was with there when Matt's body was found "and helped them pull him out of the water, and Noah identified him.

"It's I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself, honestly. 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," continued Bear. "I didn't think he would hurt himself. It does look as thought the injury is self inflicted. Obviously, the coroner and stuff still has to look at him and stuff, but I thought that y'all guys should know that it is him."

The news comes after Brown's family revealed that they feared the worst. On Thursday, Brown's brother Bear said in an emotional TikTok video, "I'm being told that late last night, that Matt took his own life. 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 added that Matt had a history of substance use and had become estranged from his family. "He has been struggling for a long time, you know, with alcohol and drugs and stuff," Bear said. "And he has done a lot of stuff that people, like, don't even know about. Everyone thinks that the family has, like, shunned him and won't have anything to do with him, but that's not actually the case. He didn't want anything to do with the family."

Matt Brown/Instagram

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Along with Bear and other family members, Matt became known to television audiences by appearing on the docudrama-style show *Alaskan Bush People*, which followed the extended Brown clan as they attempted to live off the grid in the remote wilderness, removed from modern society. The show aired for 14 seasons, from 2014 to 2022.

Matt participated in early seasons of *Alaskan Bush People* and entered rehab in 2016.

"I could see myself spiraling," he told PEOPLE that year. He added that he was nervous about coming clean to his family about his drinking.

"There was a lot of anxiety," Matt said. "It took a couple days to work up the guts to tell my parents. But their support was unbelievable. It instantly made me feel better and like I could be successful on this journey."

When announcing Matt's death, brother Bear cautioned about "negativity" online and asked for people to be considerate about what they say about his family in the comments.

"I ask people to please, please be respectful to my family and to my mom, and please watch the comments that you leave, guys," he said in the video. "Sometimes words can hurt more than fists can and a lot of people left a lot 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 y'all guys should keep in mind that people on the other side of your screen, people that you're watching that video of, they are real people too.

"And I know a lot of y'all guys have helped a lot as well and have been with my family for a long time, and I know you all have and I appreciate that and my family appreciates that as well, but I wanted to do this video to let y'all guys know," he continued. "For everyone that knew him, you deserve to know. I'm going to go ahead and go, though. But I just ask you to please, please, please be kind, especially to my siblings and stuff. If y'all want to leave negative stuff about myself, I honestly don't really care. Leave as many negative comments about me as you want, but please leave my family out of it. God bless."

*If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at **988lifeline.org** 24/7.*

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