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Tony Lara Died From A Heart Attack: ‘Deadliest Catch’ Star Mourned [Video]

By Maat van Uitert
Published on: 12:13 PST, Aug 11, 2015

Tony Lara, who starred in the Discovery Channel’s hit show Deadliest Catch, died of an apparent heart attack in his sleep. Tony Lara was in South Dakota attending the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, when it was discovered he had died in a private home, Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin told the Wrap.

TMZ reported that authorities don’t think drugs or alcohol were the reason Lara suffered a heart attack, but they won’t know for sure until toxicology reports come back. Tony’s body will reportedly be shipped back to his home state of Alaska.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, losing Tony Lara isn’t the first blow to the Deadliest Catch crew. Earlier this year, one of the show’s producers was found dead from a shotgun wound outside his home.

Tony Lara joined the cast of Deadliest Catch in 2010, following the death of cast member Phil Harris, who was 53 years old. Before dying of a heart attack, Tony was the captain of the ship Cornelia Marie, a commercial crab fishing boat based in Kodiak, Alaska. Tony himself is described as a veteran crab catcher on the Discovery Channel website.

After learning that Lara had died from a heart attack, the Discovery Channel released a statement: “We’ve lost a member of the ‘Deadliest Catch’ family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in this very sad time.” Tony is sincerely mourned by his friends and cast mates. According to Fox News, Josh Harris, who worked with Tony Lara on the Cornelia Marie, mourned his friend in a statement sent to FOX 411:

“Tony was to all of us with the Cornelia Marie a true friend. Tony was always there for the Harris Family. He offered his support and his advice. He taught and he educated. At the end of the day, Tony made all of us just a little bit better.”

Keith Colburn, who also was close to Lara, issued a statement as well, echoing the shock felt by those close to Lara after learning the veteran sea captain died of a heart attack. “Tony was a friend for 20 years and my deepest thoughts go out to his family.” Casey McManus, who is the current captain of the Cornelia Marie, tweeted after learning Lara had died of a heart attack, posting, “Still in shock over losing Capt #TonyLara @alaskatuff #RIP my friend You had a heart of gold #CorneliaMarie #DeadliestCatch. ”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbGv_ouR-1Y

[Image via Discovery Channel]

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