Overview
- The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a May 31 press release that private citizens located a deceased person in the Okanogan River who was positively identified as Matthew Brown.
- Lead volunteer Chay Wilkerson Moore said a small team using two kayaks and a narrow fishing boat found Brown about 3.5 miles from where he entered the water and that family members including his brother Noah and girlfriend Jaime were present during the recovery.
- County authorities continue to treat the case as an active investigation and have not released a cause or manner of death while the county coroner completes an autopsy and review.
- Family statements described Matt’s long struggle with substance use and mental-health issues, Bear Brown publicly said he had been told the death appeared self-inflicted, and stepsister Twila Byars criticized what she called ‘self-serving’ online tributes and asked for privacy.
- Brown was an original cast member of the TV series Alaskan Bush People and his recovery by volunteers has prompted calls from family and media for respectful coverage and for viewers to use crisis resources while officials await the coroner’s findings.