Tony Lara, a former captain on the Discovery Channel reality show "Deadliest Catch," has died at age 50, not at sea off Alaska catching crabs but in South Dakota, and of causes apparently not known.
Lara reportedly died on Saturday in Sturgis, but celebrity magazine
Us Weekly said no cause of death has been given and authorities were awaiting an autopsy report. Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin told
The Associated Press that a cause of death will not be determined until then.
Lara had worked on the ship Cornelia Marie for 10 years in the 1990s, reported Us Weekly.
The reality show's Twitter account posted a message about Lara on Sunday.
The Discovery Channel basically said the same thing without shedding any light on what happened to Lara.
"We've lost a member of the 'Deadliest Catch' family," a spokesperson told
E! News on Tuesday. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this very sad time."
Casey McManus, the current captain of the Cornelia Marie, according to E! News, also posted to Twitter about Lara's death.
Lara, a veteran crabber, was close friends with former "Deadliest Catch" captain Phil Harris, who died in 2010 after suffering a stroke while filming the show's sixth season, noted E! News.
Fans expressed their condolences, as well, on social media.
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