Authorities are crediting a “group of private citizens” for ultimately recovering the body of Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown.
“On Saturday, May 30, 2026, a group of private citizens conducting a search along the Okanogan River located a deceased individual in the river,” a Sunday, May 31, updated press release shared by Washington state’s Okanogan County Sheriff Office’s official Facebook account read in part. “The individual was recovered and brought to shore, where he was positively identified as Matthew Brown.”
The press release, signed by Sheriff Jodie Barcus, continued, “Matthew Brown has been transferred into the custody and care of the Okanogan County Coroner. The cause and manner of death will be determined by the Coroner’s Office. The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office extends its condolences to Mr. Brown’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
The press release concluded by stating that “no further information” will be released, citing an “ongoing investigation” into the reality TV star’s untimely death.
Bear Brown, Matt’s brother, confirmed his sibling’s death at the age of 43 via TikTok on Saturday, revealing that their other brother, Noah Brown, was with the group of private citizens when they located his oldest brother’s remains.
“They found a body in the river a few hours ago and it was positively identified as being Matt,” Bear, 38, said at the time. “Noah was with them and helped them pull the body out of the water. Noah identified [Matt].”
While an official cause of death has yet to be publicly revealed at the time of publication, Bear speculated that his brother’s death was “self-inflicted,” adding that he “never would have suspected that [Matt] would have hurt himself” even though his brother “struggled for a long time.”
“I was so worried that he would end up ODed or something like that,” he continued. “I didn’t think he would hurt himself.”
He added, “I ask people to please, please be respectful to my family and to my mom. Please watch the comments that you leave, guys. Sometimes words can hurt more than fists can … In one of [Matt’s] last videos, he was talking about how negative people were on his posts. You guys should keep in mind that people on the other side of your screen, people you are watching a video of, are real people too.”
Later, Noah broke his silence in the wake of his oldest brother’s death, confirming he ID’d Matt’s body.
“For the past couple of days, I’ve been working with search and rescue groups trying to locate the body and today at 3:27, the group that I was working with located the missing body and I identified it as Matthew,” he told the camera. “My oldest brother, Matthew Brown, has passed away.”
He added, “I was there when we pulled him out of the river. We hauled him up off the bank and then after the sheriff’s got there and everything, the coroner did his thing and I went down to identify that it was him.”
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