The official cause of death for Todd Meadows, a deckhand on “Deadliest Catch,” is out.
According to a death certificate obtained by TMZ, he died from “drowning with probable hypothermia” and “submersion of body in cold water.”
The certificate shows that Meadows was pronounced dead at 5:15 PM on February 25 following an “accident” aboard the Aluetian [sic] Lady crab vessel in the Bering Sea. Meadows had been working on the Aleutian Lady, one of the vessels featured on the long-running show, which fishes for crabs in the Bering Sea.
Earlier reports said he fell overboard, but details were thin. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.
The Coast Guard said that on February 25, 2026, at 5:05 PM local Alaska time, watchstanders at the Arctic District command center in Juneau got a report from the Aleutian Lady that a crew member, Todd Meadows, had fallen overboard approximately 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor.
He was recovered by the crew about ten minutes later in an unresponsive state. Crew tried to revive him, but it didn’t work, and the crew brought his body back to Dutch Harbor.
“Deadliest Catch” was in production for Season 22 at the time of the incident, and the Aleutian Lady — led by Rick Shelford and his crew — was one of the vessels being filmed. The accident occurred toward the end of the production cycle, with the Aleutian Lady being the last Season 22 vessel still at sea.
Shelford, who has appeared on the show since Season 19, described Meadows’ death as “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady.”
Safety on the Aleutian Lady has caused drama on the show before, which also led to Sean Dwyer leaving the vessel before he was set to co-captain a trip.
