'Deadliest Catch' star Todd Meadows' cause of death revealed

Todd Meadows, a deckhand connected 1 of the sportfishing vessels featured connected the Emmy-winning world bid “Deadliest Catch,” died aft helium fell overboard into the Bering Sea.

The authoritative origin of decease listed connected the unit member’s decease certificate, which was obtained by TMZ, states that Meadows died from drowning with probable hypothermia and submersion of his assemblage successful acold water. The decease has been ruled an mishap by the Alaska Department of Health.

Meadows, a rookie deckhand who joined the accumulation successful May 2025, had not yet been featured connected the long-running world bid astatine the clip of his death. “Deadliest Catch” was reportedly wrapping accumulation connected Season 22 erstwhile the incidental occurred, and cameras were rolling.

Meadows’ mother, Angela Meadows, has since asked that the amusement not aerial footage of her son’s death. “No genitor would privation the satellite to ticker their kid die,” Meadows told Alaska News Source.

Rick Shelford, the skipper of the Aleutian Lady, announced successful a societal media station that Meadows died Feb. 25. He called it “the astir tragic time successful the past of the Aleutian Lady connected the Bering Sea.”

“We mislaid our brother,” Shelford wrote successful his lengthy tribute. “Todd was the newest subordinate of our crew, helium rapidly became family. His emotion for sportfishing and his beardown enactment ethic earned everyone’s respect close away. His grin was contagious, and the dependable of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs oregon implicit the platform hailer is thing we volition transportation with america always.

“He worked hard, loved deeply, and brought joyousness to those astir him,” helium added. “Todd volition everlastingly beryllium portion of this boat, this crew, and this brotherhood. Though we mislaid him acold excessively soon, his bequest volition unrecorded connected done his children and successful each representation we transportation of him.”

A GoFundMe acceptable up successful Meadows’ sanction described the deckhand from Montesano, Wash., arsenic a begetter to “three astonishing small boys” who died “while doing what helium loved — crabbing retired connected Alaskan waters.”

The fundraiser has since raised much than $59,000.

According to the Associated Press, Meadows was reported to person fallen overboard astir 170 miles northbound of Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

“He was recovered unresponsive by the unit astir 10 minutes later,” Chief Petty Officer Travis Magee, a spokesperson with the Coast Guard’s Arctic District, told the AP.

The incidental is inactive being investigated by the Coast Guard.

Times unit writer Tracy Brown contributed to this report.