😱💔 MATT BROWN’S LIFE AND LEGACY IN THE SPOTLIGHT Matt Brown rose to fame on Alaskan Bush People, yet lived privately in recent years. After his death, his stepsister Twila Byars criticized “self-serving” online tributes, posting only: “Rest in Peace little Brother.” His journey of creativity, resilience, and personal struggles is now being re-examined by fans and family alike. 📌 Full story and reflections in comments 👇
‘Alaskan Bush People’ star Matt Brown’s sister slams ‘self-serving’ tributes after reality star’s death
Matt Brown’s half-sister Twila Byars slammed other people’s “self-serving” tributes following his tragic death.
“I want to pay tribute to my little brother and his life but the self serving feeling is a bit much for me,” she captioned an Instagram Reel showing a montage of the late “Alaskan Bush People” star on Wednesday.
“So this will be the last of them for now. Rest in Peace little Brother.”
Matt Brown’s half-sister Twila Byars (pictured above) slammed other people’s “self-serving” tributes following his tragic death.twilabyars/Instagram
Byars made the dig in her own tribute to the late “Alaskan Bush People” star posted on Wednesday.twilabyars/InstagramMatt went missing on May 27, with the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office revealing a 911 caller “heard a sound” at the Okanogan River, turned and saw a man “facedown in the water drifting away in the current.”
His brother Bear Brown took to social media to share “some really bad news” with his followers, saying he had been told that Matt — the eldest sibling of the Brown bunch — “took his own life.”
On Saturday, Bear shared the devastating news via TikTok that Matt had died by suicide. He was 43.
“I want to pay tribute to my little brother and his life but the self serving feeling is a bit much for me,” she captioned the Instagram Reel.twilabyars/Instagram
“So this will be the last of them for now. Rest in Peace little Brother.”mattbrown511/Instagram
Matt’s body was recovered from a Washington state river, according to Bear.
“They found a body in the river a few hours ago and it was positively identified as being Matt,” he said in the heartbreaking update.
Bear said that Noah Brown, the youngest brother among the seven Brown siblings, was the first family member to see Matt’s body and “helped them pull the body out of the water.”
“I would’ve never thought that Matt would hurt himself. It does look as though it was self-inflicted,” Bear said, adding that his brother had been struggling with alcohol and drug addiction, along with “other issues” he had kept private.
Matt (pictured last year) went missing on May 27. His brother Bear Brown said he had been told that Matt “took his own life.”Matt Brown/YouTube
On Saturday, Bear shared the devastating news that Matt (seen above in 2024) had died by suicide. He was 43.mattbrown511/Instagran
Bear also asked fans to be respectful and avoid leaving negative comments as the family mourns.
On Monday, Noah revealed that he had seen Matt the day before he died.
It was “just one of those, like, driving by [and] wave-type situations,” he told Us Weekly. “I wish I had more time when I drove past,” Noah confessed. “But … it is what it is.”
The 33-year-old also shared his final conversation with his late sibling “two or three weeks” before Matt’s passing.
Matt’s body was recovered from a Washington state river and was identified by their brother Noah.twilabyars/Instagram
Noah — the youngest of the Brown clan — revealed that he had seen Matt the day before he died.Discovery+
“I ran into him in the grocery store [and] the last thing I said to him was, ‘Okay, love you more, man,’ which was our thing,” Noah recalled.
“You never know when the last time you’re going to see someone is, so [our family] always [says] how you feel right before you say goodbye, because it could be the last thing,” he added. “Then that was it.”
Noah noted that he and Matt were on “good” terms but “kept [their] distance” before his passing.
It was “just one of those, like, driving by [and] wave-type situations,” he told Us Weekly. “I wish I had more time when I drove past.”Discovery+
Matt reportedly distanced himself from the rest of his family prior to his death.twilabyars/Instagram
What do you think? Post a comment.
Matt appeared in 79 episodes of “Alaskan Bush People” between 2014 and 2019, which starred his parents, Billy and Ami, and his siblings.
The Discovery Channel series followed the Brown family as they lived off the grid in the wilderness.
