Alaskan Bush People star Noah Brown has confirmed he helped recover and ID his oldest brother Matt Brown’s body after he was reported missing and feared dead.
Noah, 33, confirmed to Us Weekly that he was the person to ID Matt, 43, while he also took to Instagram on the night of Saturday, May 30, to share “some bad news” with his followers.
“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.”
Noah said the family will share more details once they receive the coroner’s report.
He went on to thank those who helped find Matt’s body amid the search and rescue efforts, adding that he didn’t have many details to share.
“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,” Noah recalled.
Noah shared that Matt’s ID and social security card were on him at the time his body was found, and Noah “visually” identified him to authorities.
He explained that he initially put off making a video about Matt’s death because he wanted to make sure it was confirmed.
“Once he knew definitive, I wanted to make sure that everyone who knew us personally heard first,” he said, adding that he’s made many phone calls to inform loved ones about Matt’s passing.
Noah promised that he will share more updates as he and his family continue to learn more about the situation.
“Once we know a cause of death and everything, I will put a video up about that,” he said.
Noah concluded the video by reminding his followers to check in on their loved ones. “Say your prayers and tell people that you love that you love them while you can,” he said. “God bless.”
Noah’s brother Bear Brown confirmed that Matt died at the age of 43 earlier on Saturday.
“They found a body in the river a few hours ago and it was positively identified as being Matt,” Bear, 38, announced via TikTok. “Noah was with them and helped them pull the body out of the water. Noah identified [Matt].”
While Bear said that Matt “struggled for a long time,” he said he “never would have suspected that [Matt] would have hurt himself.”
“I was so worried that he would end up ODed or something like that. I didn’t think he would hurt himself,” Bear added.
He also reiterated that there was no official cause of death yet, but Matt’s death was believed to be “self-inflicted.”
Matt’s death was confirmed just hours after Oregon authorities suspended search efforts for a missing man, who was believed to be the reality star, due to weather concerns.
The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office shared that they received a call on Wednesday, May 27, regarding a man who was seen sitting in the shallow waters of the Okanogan River in Washington state, according to TMZ. The caller said that the man was allegedly lying face down in the river and was being swept away by the current.
TMZ confirmed at the time that emergency responders searched the area, but were unable to find a body.
Matt had been open about his struggles with substance abuse over the years. He went to rehab in 2016, though suffered a relapse and returned from a second round of treatment two years later.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
