Alaskan Bush People's Bear Brown Confesses Troubled Brother Matt Is 'Very Likely' Dead — After Unidentified Body Was Seen 'Floating' Down a River
Bear Brown shared his fears that his brother Matt may be dead.
May 29 2026, Published 7:25 p.m. ET
Troubled Alaskan Bush People alum Matt Brown is feared dead by family and local authorities, RadarOnline.com can report.
On Thursday, May 28, Bear Brown took to TikTok and shared the “really bad news” that his brother may have taken his own life amid his struggle with struggle with "alcohol and drugs."
911 Caller Reports Body in Water
According to a press release from the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office, a 911 caller reported earlier this week that they saw a man sitting alone in the Okanogan River in Washington, where Matt lives.
“The caller turned away from the man sitting in the river, heard a sound, turned back toward the man in the water and saw the man was facedown in the water drifting away in the current,” the statement read.
Later, police confirmed they had found a gun near that location.
Days prior, Matt had already sparked major concerns after he appeared nude on a livestream on YouTube. It was speculated that he had been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
Bear Brown Claims Witnesses Saw Body 'Floating' in River
Bear Brown said police had not officially confirmed the identity of the body.
Although Bear confessed he couldn't officially "confirm" that the man in the water was his brother, he claimed several people who saw the body "floating down the river" believed it was Matt.
"All the witnesses are saying that it was Matt. Someone definitely did, and a lot of people are thinking that it’s him," he continued. "It looks like it is … It’s looking very likely that it is the case."
Police have yet to find the body and it is currently unidentified.
Matt Brown's Battle With Substances
Matt Brown reportedly struggled with alcohol and drugs.
As for the potential cause, Bear said his brother had been "been struggling for a long time with alcohol and with drugs," and at one point, he no longer wanted "anything to do with the family."
Whenever he got the chance to speak with him, Bear said he encouraged Matt to "stay on his path and keep on his sobriety stuff."
One of their most recent run-ins was when they unintentionally met up at a grocery store.
"He called me after that, and he said that he had fallen off the wagon," Bear explained. "And I was like, ‘Well, get back on it, man. Everybody falls off. Just get back on it. Go to rehab if you’ve got to. You got this. You’ve fought it a lot before.'"
He also clarified that Matt had told him he'd been "going through a really bad breakup" with a woman "he really liked."
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Bear Brown asked fans not to 'blame' his mother, Ami.
"I guess he had been drinking too much. I don’t know all the details to it," he said, then added, "(I) would’ve never thought that Matt would take his own life."
As he neared his conclusion, Bear requested that fans be "respectful" to their family, particularly their mother, Ami Brown.
"Please don’t blame her. Mom cares very much for Matt and always has and has been through a lot for him. A lot," he repeated. "So please don’t attack my mom."
