“Alaskan Bush People” star Matt Brown’s stepsister slams ‘self-serving’ tributes after his death

Key Points

• Twila Byars pens heartfelt tribute to late stepbrother, Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown.

• In her brief post, Byar slams “self-serving” tributes while honoring her brother with a photo montage.

• Brown’s body was recovered on May 30 in Washington’s Okanogan River.

Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown’s stepsister is tired of seeing “self-serving” tributes days after his tragic death.

On Wednesday, Twila Byars shared a brief post paying tribute to her stepbrother, and made sure to clear the air about why she doesn’t yet have more to share.

“I want to pay tribute to my little brother and his life but the self-serving feeling is a bit much for me,” Byars wrote, accompanied by a montage of photos featuring both Matt and herself. “So this will be the last of them for now.”

She concluded, “Rest in Peace little Brother.”

Matt, the eldest son of the Brown family featured on Discovery’s Alaskan Bush People, was found dead at 42 on May 30, just three days after going missing. Early in the search for Matt, his family spoke out about fearing the worst, voicing a belief that Matt had ended his own life after a history with substance abuse and estrangement from the family.

This speculation was backed by a press release from the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office in Washington, detailing its investigation into an unidentified person after a 911 caller reported that they “heard a sound” and turned to see that a “man was face down in the water drifting away in the current.”

An official cause of death had not been announced, but in confirming his death, Matt’s brother Solomon Isaiah “Bear” Brown, 38, said he suffered an injury that appeared “self-inflected.”

Announcing his brother’s death on Saturday, Bear said, “They found a body in the river a few hours ago, and it was positively identified as being Matt.”

He added, “I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself, honestly. He struggled for a long time, as I’ve mentioned. And I worried he was going to end up, like, OD’d or something like that. I didn’t think he would hurt himself. It does look as though the injury is self-inflicted. Obviously, the coroner… still has to look at him and stuff, but I thought that y’all guys should know that it is him.”

On Monday, the Brown family shared a statement paying tribute to Matt and acknowledging that, alongside his struggles, he was “a gifted outdoorsman, fisherman, boatman, artist, and lifelong learner” who “was compassionate, generous with his time, and deeply wanted to help others.”

They added, “We are incredibly proud of the lives he touched. Matt spent many years battling serious mental health challenges and addiction. Like countless families facing similar circumstances, we experienced periods of hope, recovery, setbacks, heartbreak, and reconciliation. Our Dad, Billy Brown, never stopped believing in Matt’s ability to heal and find peace, and neither did we.”

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Alongside his parents and six siblings, Matt rose to fame on Alaskan Bush People, which tracked the family’s unconventional off-the-grid lifestyle in the wilderness of Alaska and Washington. He was part of the show from its 2014 premiere until his 2019 exit. (The show ran for 14 seasons, ending in 2022.)

In the years that followed, Matt lived outside of the spotlight and separately from much of the Brown family, occasionally sharing updates with fans through YouTube and social media.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.

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