Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown dies aged 43 as brother issues emotional statement

His body was found following a day-long search.

The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office said they had received a call about 'a male sitting in the shallow water' south of Oroville, Washington, which subsequently triggered a search for the individual.

Matt's brother Bear said that he and his family had been unable to contact him for days. He has since confirmed in a recent update that the body of his brother had been recovered.

In his statement, he confirmed that their younger brother Noah had been part of the search efforts and had helped positively identify Matt's body.

writing on social media, he said: "They found a body in the river a few hours ago, and it was positively identified as being Matt.

"Noah was with them and helped them pull the body out of the water, and Noah identified him.

"I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself purposely. He struggled for a long time, as I've mentioned, and I was so worried he was gonna end up like OD'd or something like that.

"I didn't think that he would hurt himself. It does look as though the injury is self-inflicted. Obviously, the coroner's got to look at him and stuff.

"But I thought you all guys should know that it is him."

Bear then asked people to ‘please be respectful to my family’ and to be mindful of their comments online, noting that the grieving family would see them.

"Sometimes words can hurt more than fists can, and a lot of people left negative comments on Matt's stuff too," the grieving brother said.

"On one of his last videos, he's actually talking about how negative people were on his posts, and you guys should keep in mind that people on the other side of your screen, people you're watching a video of, they are real people too.

"I know a lot of you guys have helped a lot as well."

He concluded the message by urging people to 'be kind' with the messages they leave behind on social media.

As reported by the Sunday Guardian Live, the area where Matt Brown's body was found had previously been searched, with authorities not finding anything. An autopsy will now be performed to determine the cause of death.

The series Alaskan Bush People was a popular reality show that followed the Brown family as they attempted to survive in complete isolation, disconnected from modern society.