Mahlon Reyes, a deckhand on the Discovery Channel’s reality show “Deadliest Catch,” has died, according to a tributes posted online by his family and co-stars. He was 38.
Reyes suffered a heart attack on Saturday, July 26 in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana, according to a post on a memorial Facebook page run by his wife, Heather Sullivan.
“When paramedics reached him he was not breathing and had no pulse. The doctors, nurses and team at North Valley Hospital worked so hard to get him back and after 45 minutes they were able to get his pulse back,” she wrote.
Reyes was then transferred to the intensive care unit, she said, but “there was too much time without oxygen, causing irreversible brain damage.”
“On Sunday night our family together made the hardest choice we’ve ever made and that was to remove him from life support,” she wrote.
Reyes died shortly after midnight on July 27.
“Mahlon’s body was tired and had put up an amazing fight,” his wife wrote. “He was the strongest guy we knew.”
The crab fisherman became a fan favorite ever since he started appeared on the reality show in 2012. “Deadliest Catch” deckboss Nick McGlashan shared a photo of him and Reyes during one of their outings.
“This place misses you. RIP Mahlon,” McGlashan wrote on Twitter.
Reyes is survived by his wife and four children. The family said it is planning a celebration of life for August 31, which would have been Reyes’ 39th birthday.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better ride or die, husband in this crazy life,” Sullivan wrote. “My love we will be ok. I got this and you are my angel protecting us! This is our new forever and ever.”