The search for troubled former Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown, 43, took a grim turn on Saturday after a family member said he was seen floating away in a river this week.
Brown appeared on the Discovery Channel reality show with his family from 2014 to 2018 but was later cut from the series and sought treatment for substance abuse issues.
His brother Bear Brown tearfully revealed on Thursday that multiple witnesses had seen Matt in a river in Okanogan County, northern Washington.
Bear now fears his brother may have taken his own life after years of struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.
The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it is investigating a report of an unidentified man swept away in the river on Wednesday.
Authorities have now suspended the search for the unidentified man in Washington’s Okanogan River, TMZ reports.
The search for troubled former Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown, 43, took a grim turn on Saturday after a family member said he was seen floating away in a river this week; Above, in Alaskan Bush People
Authorities have now suspended the search for the unidentified man in Washington’s Okanogan River
The decision came after an extensive multi-agency search operation failed to uncover any sign of the missing man.
According to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office, per the outlet, deputies were joined by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel, dive teams, sonar operators, boats, personal watercraft and even a cadaver dog as crews combed a widening stretch of the river near Oroville on Friday.
Brown is seen on the show with a firearm
Despite the massive effort, authorities said no evidence was found.
Officials noted that recent rainfall had caused water levels to rise and currents to intensify throughout the day, making conditions increasingly hazardous for search teams.
Investigators now believe the river’s strong flow may have carried the individual far beyond the area where he was last seen, significantly complicating recovery efforts.
Bear previously said his last conversation with Brown took place at a Walmart before Bear left for Florida.
‘He called me after that, and he said that he had fallen off the wagon. 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’ve got this.”’
‘Everyone thinks that the family has shunned him. That’s not actually the case.
Brown’s brother Bear took to social media saying: ‘I’m being told that late last night that Matt took his own life. I can’t confirm that that’s true but witnesses say that he was seen in a river, at a river, or close to a river’
‘Please be respectful to the family, to my mom especially,” he said. “Please don’t attack my mom. Mom cares very much for Matt and always has.’
Bear said his brother had recently had a ‘really bad breakup’.
Per a Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office press release a caller called 911 on Wednesday, May 27, to report that ‘he had just spoken to a male sitting in the shallow water of the Okanogan River south of Oroville, WA.
‘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 face down in the water drifting away in the current.’
Law Enforcement, Fire and EMS responded to the location but were unable to locate the male in the river.
The release added, ‘Additional Okanogan County Deputies responded to the location with one boat, two jet ski type watercraft and an aerial drone. Also assisting in the search was the WA Department of Fish and Wildlife with a boat.
‘A firearm was recovered from the water in the area where the male was last seen.
‘The search for the male continued until dark at about 8:45 PM and resumed on in the morning of 5/28/2026 with watercraft, divers and aerial drone. The search is on-going.’
The identity of the male has not been confirmed and as of Friday, May 29, the body has not been found.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
A family member told TMZ they saw Brown around 8am Wednesday near Driscoll Island Wildlife Area off Highway 97 in Oroville, Washington, less than a mile from where the witness saw the man in the river.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.
