Bear also said Matt had been struggling “with alcohol and with drugs and stuff,” which was one of the reasons he had made an earlier video expressing concern. He added that Matt had other issues and said there were things the public did not know.
Bear Pushes Back Against Claims the Family Abandoned Matt and Sheds More Insight
In that same video, Bear pushed back against the idea that the family had simply shunned Matt. He said Matt was the one who did not want to associate with the family, but added that when Gabe Brown saw him, he was friendly, and that Bear himself had spoken to Matt and encouraged him to stay on his sobriety path.
Bear revealed that before leaving for Florida, he had run into Matt at Walmart and talked with him for a few minutes. He said Matt later called him and admitted he had “fallen off the wagon,” and Bear encouraged him to get back on track and go to rehab if he needed to.
Bear said he told Matt, “Everybody falls off,” and reminded him that he had fought before. He also said Matt had apparently been going through a very bad breakup with a girl he liked, though Bear stressed he did not know all the details.
In another TikTok video, Bear addressed criticism from viewers and again said it was very likely that the person authorities were searching for was Matt. He said he had heard from locals, eyewitnesses, the coroner, and others, and that the description matched Matt “to a T.”
Bear also said a storm had forced the search to be called off for a time, explaining that the situation was taking longer because of the conditions. He again asked fans to be more respectful and said he was disturbed by some of the “negative, nasty comments being left online.
He also warned fans that accounts claiming Matt was posting on Facebook, TikTok, or other platforms were not real. According to Bear, Matt only had a YouTube channel, and the other accounts were scammers trying to get money from people.
Bear again defended the family against claims that they had turned their backs on Matt. He said the family had spent time, money, and effort trying to help Matt, including with rehab multiple times, while also saying some relatives did not associate with him for personal reasons.
“Everybody cared about him […] Everybody was trying to tell him, you know, that everyone cares about him and everybody loves him and stuff,” Bear clarified.
The Brown Family Remembers Matt’s ‘Extraordinary Mind’
After Matt’s passing, Bear shared a family tribute that paints a much fuller picture of who Matt was beyond the headlines. The post describes him as a beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend.
The family remembers Matt as intelligent, curious, creative, and endlessly fascinated by the world around him. They called him a gifted outdoorsman, fisherman, boatman, artist, and lifelong learner who loved adventure, nature, and discovering new things.
One of the most touching parts of the tribute was the family’s description of Matt’s mind. They said Matt had “an extraordinary mind,” noting, “he taught himself sign language, studied Egyptian hieroglyphs, petroglyphs, and Sanskrit, learned conversational Spanish, and could spend hours mastering a new skill simply for the joy of understanding it.”
The family also said Matt openly shared his struggles with addiction and mental health during periods of sobriety and recovery. They wrote that he encouraged others to seek help, offered hope to people fighting similar battles, and reminded them they were not alone.
At the same time, the tribute did not pretend Matt’s life had been simple. His family acknowledged that he made mistakes and had painful chapters, but said they do not believe any person’s life should be defined only by their lowest moments.
“He was imperfect. He was human. He was deeply loved,” the family wrote. It was a heartbreaking tribute, but it also quietly set up the most painful details — the ones Matt and Bear had shared in their own words before the end.
Bear Reveals His Last Meeting with Matt
In a May 31, 2026 YouTube video, Bear spoke more directly about his last interaction with Matt. He said Matt did not want to associate with the family, but that whenever they bumped into each other, they would still talk briefly and remain cordial.
