Alaskan Bush People star Noah Brown has revealed that he personally helped recover and identify the body of his older brother, Matt Brown, after the reality TV personality was reported missing and feared dead.

Noah, 33, confirmed to Us Weekly that he was the family member who officially identified Matt, 43. He also addressed the tragedy in an emotional Instagram video posted late Saturday, May 30.

“For the past couple of days, I’ve been working with search and rescue groups trying to locate the body,” Noah said. “And today at 3:27, the group that I was working with located the missing body and I identified it as Matthew.”

“My oldest brother, Matthew Brown, has passed away,” he added.

Noah explained that the family plans to release additional information once they receive the coroner’s report.

He also thanked the search-and-rescue teams and local volunteers who assisted in the difficult recovery effort.

“I was there when we pulled him out of the river,” Noah recalled. “We hauled him up off the bank and then after the sheriff’s got there and everything, the coroner did his thing and I went down to identify that it was him.”

According to Noah, Matt had identification documents with him when his body was discovered, including his ID and Social Security card, and Noah was able to visually confirm his identity to authorities.

The reality star shared that he delayed posting publicly about his brother’s death until everything had been officially confirmed.

“Once I knew definitive, I wanted to make sure that everyone who knew us personally heard first,” he explained, adding that he spent much of the day making phone calls to family members and loved ones.

Noah promised to continue updating followers as more details become available.

“Once we know a cause of death and everything, I will put a video up about that,” he said.

Before ending the emotional video, Noah encouraged people to reach out to those they care about.

“Say your prayers and tell people that you love that you love them while you can,” he told viewers. “God bless.”

Earlier that same day, Noah’s brother Solomon Isaiah “Bear” Brown publicly confirmed Matt’s death at age 43.

“They found a body in the river a few hours ago and it was positively identified as being Matt,” Bear, 38, said in a TikTok video. “Noah was with them and helped them pull the body out of the water. Noah identified [Matt].”

Bear also spoke about Matt’s long battle with addiction, admitting the family feared he could overdose, but saying they never expected him to harm himself.

“Matt struggled for a long time,” Bear said. “I was so worried that he would end up ODed or something like that. I didn’t think he would hurt himself.”

While authorities have not yet confirmed an official cause of death, Bear said the family believed it may have been self-inflicted.

Matt’s death came only hours after authorities in Oregon suspended search operations for a missing man believed to be the former reality star because of dangerous weather conditions.

According to TMZ, the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office received a call on Wednesday, May 27, reporting that a man had been seen sitting in shallow water along the Okanogan River in Washington state. The caller later claimed the man appeared face down in the river and was swept away by the current.

Emergency responders searched the area but initially could not locate a body.

Matt Brown had openly discussed his struggles with substance abuse over the years. He first entered rehab in 2016 and later sought treatment again after suffering a relapse two years later.

Source: Us Weekly