The Most Recent Cast Member to Die
Discovery Channel’s hit reality TV series, Deadliest Catch, is no stranger to death. Crab fishing in the Bering Sea isn’t for the faint of heart or the fearful, as it’s an incredibly dangerous, high-risk profession. Todd Kochutin is the most recent cast member on the show to die. Here’s what to know, plus more about who dies in Deadliest Catch Season 19 airing in 2023.
Todd Kochutin was the most recent star of ‘Deadliest Catch’ to die
Deadliest Catch star Todd Kochutin died in February 2021, marking his death as one of the most recent from the show. He died at 30 years old after sustaining injuries while aboard the F/V Patricia Lee.
“Todd was born in Anchorage, Alaska, to Robert Olsen and Deanna Kochutin,” his obituary reads. “He was a passionate fisherman. He devoted most of summers and winters to fishing for king crab, opilio, Pacific cod, and pollock in the Bering Sea. The Bering Sea was a very special place near and dear to his heart.”
So, what happened to Kochutin? Clips from the series show Captain Bill Wichrowski learning that someone aboard the Patricia Lee needed medical attention following an accident. Captain Sig Hansen then revealed that Kochutin might’ve been hit with a crab pot. Crab pots are cages weighing up to 800 pounds.
Unfortunately, the medic reported Kochutin was in “a lot of pain,” and the fisherman died while aboard the boat following the accident.
Who dies on ‘Deadliest Catch’ Season 19? It wasn’t a crew member
Todd Kochutin’s death on Deadliest Catch is just one more reminder of the dangers of fishing on the Bering Sea. Fans hope they don’t have to witness the death of even more fishermen while watching the series. Unfortunately, Deadliest Catch Season 19 features a death — but it’s not due to injuries aboard a boat.
So, who dies in Deadliest Catch 2023? Sig Hansen learned while fishing that his mother died, as seen in the episode that aired on May 2, 2023.
“She’s in a hospice, so they just put her on morphine and it could be hours,” June, Sig’s wife, tells him over the phone. At the time, Sig was out fishing with his daughter, Mandy Hansen, with him. Mandy cried as the news was relayed to Sig. Sig then chose to turn the F/V Northwestern back in the hopes of saying goodbye to his mother while she was still alive.
“Maybe you guys will be lucky and make it,” June told Sig on the phone.
The cause of Sig’s mother’s death was unknown in the series.
Mandy Hansen says she worries about her father, Captain Sig Hansen, while he’s fishing
Mandy Hansen is featured heavily in Deadliest Catch Season 19. She’s a captain in training aboard the F/V Northwestern with her father, Sig Hansen. While she loves fishing in the Bering Sea with her father by her side, she still gets worried due to the dangers of Alaska.
“Looking back before, the guys left and went out and went fishing and they came back home and you just listened to the stories,” Mandy told Channel Guide Magazine. “It wasn’t until I tuned into the TV show myself that I realized that it’s crazy out there and it is dangerous and maybe these guys won’t even come back. I didn’t worry at all until the TV show.”
Mandy also mentioned when she realized she should start worrying about her father at sea. “We used to have a TAG phone at home and I’d talk to my dad back and forth on the TAG phone, he’d tell me how it’s going and whether there was crab or not, and then he would just say, ‘Oh I have to go,'” she continued. “Well, looking at TV, there’s a reason he had to go! He was taking on big waves or something broke in the engine room — something was always going on. That’s when I started worrying!”
Deadliest Catch Season 19 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel.
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