The official cause of death for Todd Meadows, a deckhand featured on the reality television series "Deadliest Catch," has been determined to be drowning combined with hypothermia, according to a recently released death certificate. The 25-year-old fisherman's life ended in a tragic accident aboard the Aleutian Lady crab vessel in the Bering Sea on February 25.
The document, obtained by media sources, states Meadows died from "drowning with probable hypothermia" and "submersion of body in cold water." He was pronounced dead at 5:15 PM local time.
Meadows fell overboard while crabbing off the coast of Alaska, and cameras from the Discovery Channel series were reportedly recording at the time. His family has publicly requested that the network refrain from airing any footage of the incident.
Following the tragedy, Meadows' body was transported to Anchorage and cremated. He is survived by his wife and three young children. In the wake of his passing, a GoFundMe campaign was established to support his family, which has raised over $56,000 to date.