Blake Painter, an Oregon fisherman featured on the Discovery Channel series The Deadliest Catch, has died. He was 38.
Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin said Tuesday Painter had been found in his Astoria home on May 25 by a friend who visited after being unable to reach him.
The friend found Painter lying face down on the kitchen floor, USA Today reported.
READ MORE: Jake Harris of ‘Deadliest Catch’ arrested for car theft, drug possession
Bergin said a cause of death would not be released until a toxicology report had been completed, but there was no apparent evidence of foul play.
According to TMZ, several substances were found at the scene to be tested.
The Daily Astorian reported that Painter had been arrested earlier this year when a police officer allegedly saw him smoking heroin while driving.
READ MORE: ‘Deadliest Catch’ star Tony Lara dead at 50
Get daily National news
Painter rose to prominence after appearing on early seasons of the Discovery Channel series, which chronicles the lives and work of fishermen in Alaska waters, with an eye to the hazards of the profession.
Painter was an expert crab fisherman.
Keith Colburn of Deadliest Catch sent his condolences on Twitter.
Fellow Deadliest Catch star Tony Lara died at age 50 from a heart attack in 2015.
— With files from the Associated Press
Comments