The cause of death of “Deadliest Catch” star Todd Meadows has been revealed.
According to a death certificate obtained by TMZ, the 25-year-old reality star died of “drowning due to possible hypothermia” and “submersion into cold water.”
His place of death is recorded as being on a crab fishing boat in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska.
Meadows was working and filming a television series for the Discovery Channel when he tragically died after falling overboard, Page Six previously confirmed.
Cast deckhand Trey John Green III previously told Page Six that the Meadows was sorting out crabs in a shell trap (also known as a pot) when it fell overboard.
“We thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s going to sink to the bottom. There’s no way we’re going to get this pot back up,'” Green said, explaining that she quickly saw Meadows crawl out of the pot and swim in the water, which was “just a degree or two below zero.”
Mr Green said Mr Meadows was only in the water for about four minutes before rescue swimmers recovered his “lifeless” body.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the man was unresponsive when crews retrieved his body about 10 minutes later.
Crews attempted to resuscitate Meadows and administer first aid, but were unsuccessful.
Mr. Meadows was filming the first season of “Deadliest Catch” at the time of his death.
Meadows’ co-star Captain Rick Shelford announced the death on Facebook, calling it “the most tragic day in the history of the Lady of the Aleutian Islands of the Bering Sea.”
“Todd was a new member of our crew and quickly became part of the family. His love of fishing and strong work ethic quickly earned everyone’s respect,” Shelford wrote.
It is unclear whether Discovery captured the incident on camera, but Meadows’ mother, Angela, begged production staff not to release the footage to avoid profiting from her son’s death.
“I hope they only broadcast good things about Todd on that ship,” she told TMZ.
Additionally, Meadows’ sister Mackenzie emotionally spoke of the indescribable “pain” her family and her brother’s children were experiencing.
“His sons will see him through the pictures, and we will see him through our sons,” she previously told Us Weekly.
