The lead search and rescue volunteer who helped find Alaskan Bush People‘s Matt Brown has shared details of the traumatic moment the reality star’s body was pulled from a Washington river.
Matt’s passing was confirmed in the early hours of Sunday morning (May 31), just days after he was reported missing on Friday (May 29). Matt’s brother, Bear Brown, posted a heartbreaking update on Instagram, saying, “They found a body in the river a few hours ago, and it was positively identified as being Matt.”
In an interview with The U.S. Sun, Chay Wilkerson Moore spoke about how he assembled a search-and-rescue team after a witness told the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office they saw a man “face down in the water drifting away in the current.”
“A very personal friend of mine called me and told me that Matt said he was on a mission from Jesus,” Moore told the outlet, noting that he knew Matt pretty well and was aware of his history of addiction and mental health issues. “And we had no clue what any of this meant.”
After learning of the report of a man face down in the river, Moore said he waited for the police to conduct their own search before putting together his own team. “Basically, we had four people, and they brought whatever we could find, which were kayaks from Walmart,” he said. “I mean, we literally had two kayaks and a little narrow fishing boat.”
Moore, who said Matt’s brother, Noah Brown, signed off on the search, explained how the kayaks and small boats without engines were able to move slowly through the fast-moving water. He also noted that Matt’s girlfriend, Jaime, was aboard one of the boats.
“We found Matt about 3.5 miles exactly from the entry point where he entered the water,” Moore explained, revealing that one of the female volunteers spotted a brown jacket bobbing in the water. “Brown water and brown jacket… so very difficult to spot,” Moore added.
Moore said there were “a lot of emotions” as Matt’s body was discovered. “They approached the body, and they loaded it into the boat, which isn’t a normal practice for us,” he admitted, explaining how they’d normally call the Sheriff but were afraid they’d lose Matt in the current. “And being that they were very close to Matt, I think that their adrenaline kicked in and they loaded him into the boat.”
After arranging an exit point, Moore revealed that Noah joined him and his team as they picked up the boat with Matt in it. “He was covered, and Noah was still in a surreal state of disbelief,” he said. “Jamie, Matt’s girlfriend, was very overwhelmed with emotions, to say the least.”
Alaskan Bush People aired on the Discovery Channel for 14 seasons from 2014 to 2022.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by texting or dialing 988. If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911.
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