Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown‘s family is worried that he is dead as the police search for an unidentified man in the area.
Matt’s brother Bear Brown took to TikTok on Thursday, May 29, to address witnesses who claimed Matt, 43, was seen near a river. The unidentified people claimed Matt was floating in the water, which Bear, 38, couldn’t confirm for himself.
TMZ reported that the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office received a call on Wednesday, May 27, to report a man sitting in the shallow waters of the Okanogan River in Washington state. The anonymous caller looked away and when they turned back because of a sound, the man was allegedly lying face down in the river and being swept away by the current.
The outlet confirmed that emergency responders searched the area but could not find a body. The Sheriff’s Office, meanwhile, told TMZ that as of Friday, May 29, no body has been found — with the search set to resume soon.
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A source close to the family tells Us Weekly, “The family is not sure what to believe right now. They are not sure where Matt is but they are hoping that he is OK and that the information is wrong. They are all in contact and speaking to police and waiting to hear. They have had their issues [with Matt] and Gabe has been the person most in contact with him.”
Alaskan Bush People, which aired from 2014 to 2022, followed the Brown family as they built lives together off the grid in Alaska. Matt, for his part, appeared on the show until 2019 when he quietly vanished without an official explanation.
Matt’s absence from Alaskan Bush People came amid his issues with substance abuse. The reality star entered rehab in 2016 and later suffered a relapse. After Matt returned to treatment in 2018, two women came forward with allegations of sexual assault against him. Matt entered rehab shortly after the alleged encounters but the Brown family didn’t publicly address the claims.
In December 2025, Bear offered a “promising update” about the future of the show.
“The day is getting closer and closer to something a lot of people thought would never happen,” he said in a social media video. “What I’m talking about is actually the return of Alaskan Bush People.”
Bear claimed that the show’s indefinite hiatus had nothing to do with the family being “more spread out” since many no longer reside in Alaska. Instead, Bear blamed the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery.
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“If that happens, that means the Discovery Channel is by itself again and doesn’t have the extra IPs like Batman and Bugs Bunny and stuff,” Bear explained. “That greatly increases the [chance of the] return of Alaskan Bush People. Discovery is still interested in following the family.”
Matt, for his part, shifted his focus from reality TV to running his own YouTube channel. More recently, Matt posted a video of himself seemingly wandering around a public park naked while holding a gun.
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).
