New details have emerged regarding the death of Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown.
“The Okanogan County Coroner’s Office has confirmed the identity of a deceased adult male recovered from the Okanogan River south of Oroville, Washington,” the Okanogan County Coroner’s office said in a Monday, June 1, press release.
The statement noted that the Coroner’s Office was notified by the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office on May 27 of “an individual observed floating face down in the river.”
“Initial efforts to confirm and retrieve the individual were unsuccessful due to fast-moving river conditions, and search operations continued over the following days,” the release read.
Three days later, the Coroner’s Office was notified that a body “had been located downstream from the original site.”
“Working in coordination with the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office, the body was secured and subsequently positively identified as Matthew J. Brown, 43, of Oroville, Washington. Identification was confirmed by a family member present on scene,” the press release read.
The Coroner’s Office noted that a postmortem examination will be conducted in the coming days to determine an official cause of death.
Matt’s brother Bear Brown confirmed on Saturday, May 30, that the reality star died and his body had been recovered. He was 43. Bear shared that their older brother, Noah Brown, was with the group of private citizens when Matt’s remains were located.
“All we can say is that he was lost in the river. He was lost in the river, and we found him,” Noah, 33, exclusively told Us Weekly on Sunday, March 31. “Right now, he’s with the coroner. They’re going to do an autopsy and everything like that. They haven’t yet released the cause of death.”
He continued, “I was there, so they found him, and the small search team that had actually located him, instead of leaving the body where it was, they had loaded him into the small skiff and moved him to shore. Then, myself and the rest of the people that were looking hauled the skiff up further on the shore, and that’s where it was when the coroner came.”
Noah shared that he “personally ID’d” his brother, noting that the family is “looking at different options” with next steps.
“The coroner currently has him, and once we hear from the coroner … maybe Monday or Tuesday, then we’ll know more, and know more for the next steps,” Noah said. “Right now, it’s still in the process of just trying to come to terms with the fact that he’s actually gone.”
