Alaskan Bush People Star Matt Brown Dead at 43 After Police Search

Noting that Matt often acknowledged hateful comments he would get on social media, Bear asked for online users to “please be respectful to my family and to my mom and please watch the comments that you leave, guys.”

“You guys should keep in mind that people on the other side of your screen,” he added, “people that you’re watching a video of, they’re real people, too.”

One day earlier, Bear shared his fears that Matt had died amid reports of an incident near Washington's Okanogan River.

“I got some really bad news about Matt that I wanted to share with you all guys,” Bear said in a May 29 TikTok. “But I wanted to start out by saying that I can't confirm that it's 100 percent true right now, but it is what I'm hearing. I'm being told that late last night that Matt took his own life.”

According to the 38-year-old, witnesses at the scene allege Matt may have taken his own life before falling into the river and disappearing.

“They called the police, and that they've been scouring, doing what they do, trying to find the body,” Bear continued. “So far, they haven't been able to find any body, so all the witnesses and stuff are saying that it was Matt.”

And indeed, the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a press release that it received a call about a man sitting in the shallows of Okanogan river.  

“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,” the release said. “Law Enforcement, Fire and EMS responded to the location but were unable to locate the male in the river.” 

The release noted a firearm was located at the site. The Sherriff’s Office added it would not be sharing the name of the victim at this time.  

E! News has reached out to the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office for comment but has not yet heard back.

In his update, Bear also shed light on his brother’s alleged sobriety journey in recent years.

“He has been struggling for a long time, you know, with alcohol and with drugs and stuff,” he alleged of his older brother. “I was getting really worried about him.”

The reality star also said Matt had isolated himself over time.

“Everyone thinks that the family has, like, shunned him,” Bear said, “but that's not actually the case. He didn't want anything to do with the family.”

Bear then shared how his and Matt’s relationship grew more distant, with only the occasional phone call between them.

“I always try to just encourage him to stay on his path, you know, keep on his sobriety stuff,” he said, recalling the last time he’d seen his brother was for a few minutes at a Walmart. “He called me after that, and he said that he had fallen off the wagon, and I was like, ‘Get back on, man. Everybody falls off, you know, just getting back on it. Go rehab if you've got to, you've got this, you fought it a lot before.’”

However, “That was the last call I had with him,” Bear said. “I know that he's had problems and struggles and stuff like that, but I've never thought that he would take his own life.”

At the end of his video, Bear shared the reason he decided to open up about his family’s difficult time during their ongoing search.

“I wanted your guys to hear it from the family first,” he concluded. “I will let y'all guys know more, as I know more, but I will ask for you to please be respectful to the family, to my mom especially.”