Tony Lara, a crab catcher who appears on the Discovery Channel reality series Deadliest Catch, died suddenly at a South Dakota motorcycle rally. He was only 50 years old.
Lara was attending a motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin told the Associated Press that officials have not determined the cause of death and are still waiting on autopsy results. He died at a private home in Sturgis Saturday morning.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time,” a Discovery spokesman told People magazine. The network also confirmed his death in a Twitter post. “Yesterday we lost a member of the Catch Family. May you RIP Captain Tony Lara,” the message reads.
Lara was the captain of the boat Cornelia Marie on the show, which airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. It is currently in its 11th season and focuses on crab fishermen who work off the coast of Alaska.