'Deadliest Catch' star Blake Painter found dead in Oregon home
Former Deadliest Catch captain Blake Painter was found dead in his home in Oregon on Friday, according to TMZ.
Blake, who served as the captain of the F/V Maverick on the hit Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch, was discovered after one of his friends grew concerned about his absence.
The cause of his death is still unknown but the police are testing the substance found at the scene of Blake's death. It will later be tested for narcotics. Even though the police do not suspect any foul play, they are going to announce the official cause of the death only after the reports of his autopsy and toxicology test are out.
Blake first appeared on the show during the second season. However, he left the show several episodes into the third season. Blake, an expert crab fisherman, often spoke about his mixed feeling towards his career.
One could say it was due to the several injuries that he incurred while working. In an interview with Seattle Weekly back in 2013, Blake shed some light on his mixed views about his work.
"I dread long-lining season, just because it's so repetitive," he said. Meanwhile, he appreciated the same by saying, "When fishing is good, you're making money quick. It's not uncommon to make $1,000 a day." The news about his death comes after reports suggested that he was arrested in the month of January.
According to The Daily Astorian, Blake was arrested by Astoria police after one of the officers saw him smoking heroin while he was driving. He was later charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, unlawful possession of heroin, tampering with physical evidence and reckless driving. According to a fan site for Deadliest Catch, Blake always had his interest in fishing.
He was born and raised in the Oregon coastal town of Astoria and started fishing at the age of three. Even his younger brother operates in the fishing industry. Blake spent 11 months out of the year fishing and had been skippering since he was 19 years old.