The search for Matt Brown, a star of “Alaskan Bush People,” concluded in tragedy as the 43-year-old was found dead on Saturday.
Matt’s brother, Bear Brown, shared the heartbreaking news via a TikTok video, stating that a body had been discovered in a river in northern Washington state just hours earlier.
Authorities later confirmed that the body was indeed Matt Brown. His brother Noah was involved in assisting the police in retrieving Matt from the water.
Bear Brown indicated that the cause of death appeared to be suicide, mentioning a wound on Matt’s body that seemed “self-inflicted,” though he did not specify its location or severity.
“I never imagined he would harm himself,” Bear expressed to his TikTok audience, reflecting on Matt’s past struggles with drug and alcohol addiction.
“He battled addiction for a long time, and I was always worried about him possibly overdosing. I never thought he would intentionally hurt himself,” Bear added.
Brown appeared on Alaskan Bush People with his family from 2014-2018.
The desperate search for Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown has come to a tragic end as the 43-year-old was discovered dead on Saturday
Bear said that the coroner allowed him and other family members to see Brown’s body following his retrieval from the river.
Bear also asked that the public ‘respect [the] family’ amid their grieving and to ‘watch the comments’ that they leave on social media about Brown.
‘Sometimes words can hurt more than fists can,’ said Bear, who noted that one of Brown’s last social media posts was about the ‘negativity’ he had received online.
He concluded the TikTok video with a final plea to the public to be ‘kind’ to the Brown family.
Bear’s heartbreaking update comes just two days after he tearfully revealed on Thursday that multiple witnesses had seen Matt in a river in Okanogan County.
He had voiced fears that his brother may have taken his own life at the time.
The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it is investigating a report of an unidentified man swept away in the Okanogan River on Wednesday.
But on Saturday, TMZ reported that authorities had suspended the search for the unidentified man.
The decision came after an extensive multi-agency search operation failed to uncover any sign of the missing man.
According to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office, per the outlet, deputies were joined by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel, dive teams, sonar operators, boats, personal watercraft and even a cadaver dog as crews combed a widening stretch of the river near Oroville on Friday.
Despite the massive effort, authorities said no evidence was found.
Officials noted that recent rainfall had caused water levels to rise and currents to intensify throughout the day, making conditions increasingly hazardous for search teams.
Investigators now believe the river’s strong flow may have carried the body far beyond the area where he was last seen, significantly complicating recovery efforts.
Bear previously said his last conversation with Brown took place at a Walmart before Bear left for Florida.
‘He called me after that, and he said that he had fallen off the wagon. And 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.”’
‘Everyone thinks that the family has shunned him. That’s not actually the case.
Brown, who appeared on Alaskan Bush People from 2014-2018, had vanished days earlier
‘Please be respectful to the family, to my mom especially,” he said. “Please don’t attack my mom. Mom cares very much for Matt and always has.’
Bear said his brother had recently had a ‘really bad breakup’.
Per a Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office press release a caller called 911 on Wednesday, May 27, to report that ‘he had just spoken to a male sitting in the shallow water of the Okanogan River south of Oroville, WA.
‘The caller turned away from the man sitting in the river, heard a sound, turned back toward the man in the water and saw the man was face down in the water drifting away in the current.’
Law Enforcement, Fire and EMS responded to the location but were unable to locate the male in the river.
The release added, ‘Additional Okanogan County Deputies responded to the location with one boat, two jet ski type watercraft and an aerial drone. Also assisting in the search was the WA Department of Fish and Wildlife with a boat.
‘A firearm was recovered from the water in the area where the male was last seen.
‘The search for the male continued until dark at about 8:45 PM and resumed on in the morning of 5/28/2026 with watercraft, divers and aerial drone. The search is on-going.’
The news of Brown’s death came hours after authorities suspended the search for the previously unidentified man in Washington’s Okanogan River
![Brown's brother Bear voiced fears that Brown may have 'took his own life' after 'witnesses [said] that he was seen in a river'](https://i.dailymail.com/1s/2026/05/31/06/108963747-15861703-Brown_s_brother_Bear_took_to_social_media_saying_I_m_being_told_-a-69_1780204445837.jpg)
Brown’s brother Bear voiced fears that Brown may have ‘took his own life’ after ‘witnesses [said] that he was seen in a river’
The identity of the male has not been confirmed and as of Friday, May 29, the body has not been found.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
A family member told TMZ they saw Brown around 8am Wednesday near Driscoll Island Wildlife Area off Highway 97 in Oroville, Washington, less than a mile from where the witness saw the man in the river.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.
