Mahlon Reyes, a deckhand who appeared on Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch, has died at the age of 38. According to TMZ, Reyes’s wife confirmed his death on July 27, following a heart attack on July 25. According to a memorial Facebook page dedicated to Reyes, the crab fisherman was hospitalized in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana, and never regained consciousness. He was subsequently taken off life support. Reyes reportedly did not, to his family’s knowledge, have a preexisting condition that would have precipitated the heart attack.
Variety reports that Reyes periodically appeared on two crabbing vessels, the Seabrooke and Cape Caution, followed by Deadliest Catch since 2012. The reality series documents the dramatic and often dangerous profession of crab-fishing on different vessels operating out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, which traverse the Pacific during crab season. The late fisherman’s wife tells TMZ that Reyes has been cremated and some of his ashes would be spread by his Deadliest Catch colleagues in the Bering Sea. He is survived by his spouse and four children.