The search for “Alaskan Bush People” star Matt Brown has been called off due to bad weather amid reports the TV personality may have died.
Authorities have called off search efforts in the Okanogan River in Washington, where an unidentified man is believed to be missing, according to a Saturday press release from the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office.
They explained that river conditions, including water levels, were too dangerous after fresh rain.
Officials no longer believe the person will be found in that particular body of water due to high currents.
On Friday, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel, divers and cadaver dogs climbed the river to search for signs of people. Despite their efforts, no one could be found.
The sheriff’s office is now hoping to gain more knowledge to narrow down the search area.
This update comes shortly after Brown’s brother Bear Brown told his followers on social media that he feared his brother was dead.
Bear, 38, said in a TikTok video Thursday that she was told Matt, 43, “took his own life.”
Baer couldn’t confirm the news, but said the former reality star was seen “going down the river.”
He claimed that someone alerted the police, which triggered the search operation.
“All the witnesses say it was Matt,” Baer insisted. “Someone definitely did, and a lot of people think it was him. … It seems that way. … It seems very likely that that is the case.”
The distraught family revealed that their eldest son had “suffered from alcohol and drug problems for a long time”.
He claimed that Matt had become estranged from his family by his actions.
Bear and Matt last met “a while ago” at Walmart.
“That was the last time I saw him,” Baer said. “Then he called me and said he had fallen off the wagon. And I said, ‘Come on, get back on, dude. Everybody falls. Just get back on. Go to rehab if you need to. You understand this. You’ve fought so many times before.'”
He added that he heard his brother was going through a “really bad breakup” and was probably drinking too much.
That same day, insiders told TMZ that her other brother, Gabe, was seen talking to officers during a search operation.
Gabe is one of the few family members who is not estranged from Matt.
Prior to Baer’s video, the sheriff’s office issued a press release announcing that a person called 911 on Wednesday claiming someone spoke to a man who was sitting in the shallows of the Okanogan River.
“The caller turned away from the man who was sitting in the river, heard a noise, turned back to the man who was in the water, and saw the man face down in the river,” the press release said.
The statement said a gun was later recovered from the area where the unidentified person was last seen.
Last week, Matt walked around naked and appeared to be drunk or high in an alarming livestream uploaded to YouTube.
In the video, the Discovery Channel alum was also seen carrying what appeared to be a gun.
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
