A month following the death of Todd Meadows, 25, a cast member of the famous reality series Deadliest Catch, in a fishing accident, his cause of death has been disclosed.
Meadows, who featured as a deckhand on the Discovery Channel series, died from "drowning with probable hypothermia" and "submersion of body in cold water," his death certificate, issued March 6, and obtained by TMZ on Monday, April 6, said.
The document shows that an autopsy was carried out, and the cause of death was ultimately ruled an accident.
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A spokesperson for the United States Coast Guard Arctic District certified to PEOPLE in a statement that on the evening of Wednesday, 25 February, Meadows "fell overboard" when working on the Aleutian Lady fishing vessel off the coast of Alaska.
The statement further disclosed that Coast Guard watchstanders at the Arctic District command centre in Juneau received a notification from the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady reporting that a crew member, Todd Meadows, had fallen overboard about 170 miles north of Dutch Harbour.
"He was recovered unresponsive by the crew approximately 10 minutes later. First aid and attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful, and the crew transported the deceased to Dutch Harbour," the statement read, with the Coast Guard adding that officials were "investigating this situation."
Capt first reported news of Meadows' death. Rick Shelford in a lengthy tribute on Facebook on March 2. The two had featured together on the Deadliest Catch, a reality show series that shows the high-stakes world of crab fishing, and were being filmed for the show's forthcoming season.