Deadliest Catch Star Todd Meadows's Final Words Before Fatal Fall Revealed
Moments before falling overboard, the 'Deadliest Catch' star assured his children he was being safe.
The season 22 finale of Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" featured the final words of star Todd Meadows to his children before his fatal fall overboard. During a FaceTime call, Meadows told his children he was "being safe" just moments before he fell from the Aleutian Lady into the Bering Sea in February. His daughter expressed concern, telling him, "I hope you're being safe. If you're not being safe, you better be safe." Meadows, 25, responded, "Oh, I'm being safe."
The episode depicted the events leading up to and following Meadows's death, including a segment where he expressed his ambition to join the fishing crew. "It had been one of my dreams and goals to join the fishing crew," Meadows said in a confessional interview. "That's why I'm up here to make it and to try to support my family." He acknowledged the difficulty of leaving his young children, all under the age of five, but stated his youngest struggled to understand his absence.
Following the incident, Captain Rick Shelford heard screams and asked the crew if everyone was okay. Upon learning they were not, the boat was turned around to search for Meadows. He had been in the water for over six minutes and was unresponsive when pulled out. CPR was administered, but he did not respond. The Coast Guard was subsequently called.
Meadows succumbed to "drowning with probable hypothermia," according to reports. His remains were cremated and transported to Anchorage. He is survived by his wife and children.
The tragic event was captured by the Discovery Channel crew filming the season. Deckhand Trey John Green III noted that the waters were calm and only a few degrees above freezing when Meadows went overboard.
Months prior to the finale's airing, Meadows's mother, Angela Meadows, stated that the family did not wish for any footage of the accident to be aired, nor did they want Discovery to profit from their son's death. She requested that the network only air positive footage of Todd "crabbing at sea" for the family's memories. A GoFundMe campaign established to support Meadows's family has raised over $87,000 towards its $90,000 goal.