A deckhand on Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” died after the Coast Guard received a report that he fell overboard while the Aleutian Lady was operating in Alaska waters, according to the U.S. Coast Guard and statements from the show’s network and crew captain.
Chief Petty Officer Travis Magee, a spokesperson with the Coast Guard’s Arctic District, said the Coast Guard received a notification shortly after 5 p.m. Feb. 25 from the Aleutian Lady about 170 miles (274 kilometers) north of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The report involved crew member Todd Meadows, whom the notification said had fallen overboard.
Magee said the crew recovered Meadows unresponsive about 10 minutes later. He said the crew attempted resuscitation, but efforts were unsuccessful, and the crew brought Meadows’ body to Dutch Harbor.
The Coast Guard said in the same account that it is investigating the death. Magee did not provide further details about the circumstances surrounding Meadows’ fall overboard or the events before he was recovered.
Aleutian Lady Capt. Rick Shelford wrote about Meadows in a social media post that did not detail how Meadows died. Shelford said it was the “most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea,” and wrote that Meadows was the newest member of the boat’s crew but “quickly became family.”
In that post, Shelford said, “Todd’s love for his children, his family, and his life was evident in everything he did. He worked hard, loved deeply, and brought joy to those around him,” according to the text of the post cited by AP.
Discovery Channel also released a statement calling Meadows’ death “a devastating loss,” and said its “hearts are with his loved ones, his crewmates, and the entire fishing community during this incredibly difficult time.”
An online fundraiser cited in the report said it had raised about $30,000 by Tuesday to assist Meadows’ family, including his three sons, and to pay for funeral costs and other expenses. The fundraiser said Meadows, 25, died doing what it described as his “loved best: crabbing on Alaska waters.”
Meadows joined “Deadliest Catch” as a cast member last May and was in his first year on the show, according to the report. The outlet said no episodes for the new season have aired yet.
The death is the latest involving cast members of the series that documents crab fishing in the Bering Sea, a region described in the report as one of the world’s harshest environments. In 2021, crewman Todd Kochutin, 30, died following injuries he received aboard the fishing vessel Patricia Lee, according to an obituary cited by AP, and the report noted that other cast members have died from substance abuse or natural causes, including Capt. Phil Harris of the fishing vessel Cornelia Marie, who died in 2010 at age 53 after a massive stroke, as reported by NPR.