Harrowing details have emerged from the Deadliest Catch tragedy that saw star Todd Meadows lose his life in the sub-zero waters of the Bering Sea on February 25.
Meadows died at age 25 after falling overboard, despite a desperate rescue attempt by his crewmates aboard Captain Rick Shelford’s Aleutian Lady fishing vessel.
Deckhand Trey John Green III, 30, recalled the moment a rescue harness snapped as the crew fought to save the young fisherman and did ‘everything they could’ to help him.
Meadows was in the water for ‘three or four minutes’ before crew members were able to get him back on the boat, but by then he was already ‘turning blue’ with foam emerging out of his mouth and nose, Green told Page Six.
The entire incident was reportedly captured from multiple angles by Discovery Channel cameras, as the crew performed CPR for 45 minutes in a vain attempt to revive him before the Captain halted the rescue efforts.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Discovery Channel and Captain Shelford for comment.
Harrowing details have emerged from the Deadliest Catch tragedy that saw star Todd Meadows (pictured) lose his life in the sub-zero waters of the Bering Sea on February 25
‘We got him on the boat as fast as we possibly could; it just wasn’t enough,’ Green said, adding that Meadows’s body was then wrapped in a tarp and placed in a freezer to preserve it.
Green described the usually treacherous Bering Sea as ‘flat’ and ‘calm’ on that day, and said the weather was ‘actually good.’
He added that the incident happened in the late afternoon when the sun was still out and visibility was high.
He said the water was ‘only a degree or two above freezing’ and the ‘outside temperature was below freezing.’
Green alleged that Meadows went overboard after an incident with one of the vessel’s shellfish pots – a type of fishing trap.
The US Coast Guard is still probing the incident to establish the exact circumstances surrounding Meadows’s death.
Green said that right after Meadows went overboard, he ran to the back of the boat to look for him.
‘I see Todd. He’s floating, he’s swimming. He’s got huge baby blue eyes. And I can still, probably from like 100 yards away, I could still see his eyes looking around.’
Meanwhile Shelford turned the boat around to get closer.
Meadows died at age 25 after falling overboard, despite a desperate rescue attempt by his crewmates aboard Captain Rick Shelford’s Aleutian Lady fishing vessel
Deckhand Trey John Green III, 30, (pictured) recalled the moment a rescue harness snapped as the crew fought to save the young fisherman and did ‘everything they could’ to help him
Meadows was in the water for ‘three or four minutes’ before crew members were able to get him back on the boat, but by then he was already ‘turning blue’ with foam emerging out of his mouth and nose, Green told Page Six
The entire incident was reportedly captured from multiple angles by Discovery Channel cameras, as the crew performed CPR for 45 minutes in a vain attempt to revive him before the Captain halted the rescue efforts
‘Todd’s still alive, he’s still swimming, he’s still trying to hang in there. We get next to him, and then Steve [Porter] — Steve is the — every boat has a designated rescue swimmer for this exact kind of scenario. Steve was already geared up and was already in the diving suit,’ Green said, adding that ‘when Steve jumped in the water, the harness that was attached to the crane actually broke.’
Desperate crew members then scrambled to deploy a life sling attached to the vessel’s crane.
With the help of Porter, Meadows was able to get into the sling and was ‘halfway up’ and ‘almost back on the boat’ when he ‘fell back into the water.’
Green said that by the second attempt Meadows ‘was lifeless.’
‘He didn’t have any more — like I said, the first time, he was fighting, trying to get onto the sling. And then the second time, he was just — he was lifeless.’
Green said that even though Meadows was ‘turning blue’ they began performing CPR ‘right away.’
They used an AED machine – a portable type of automated defibrillator – but ‘nothing was working.’
Green said that after 45 minutes the Captain told them ‘Guys, it’s not gonna work.’
Green said that after 45 minutes of CPR efforts Captain Shelford (pictured) told them, ‘Guys, it’s not gonna work’
Green also claimed that Meadows was not wearing a lifejacket, adding that none of the crew wear them
Green also claimed that Meadows was not wearing a lifejacket.
‘On this boat, we don’t wear lifejackets. I don’t really know what the reason is. I know it sounds silly because to somebody who’s not [in this field], it does seem kind of crazy. Like, “Why would somebody not wear a lifejacket?” But it’s just, like, when you’re working 18, 20 hours a day, it’s just another piece of gear, and it’s just a hassle. I don’t really know why we don’t wear them, to be honest.’
Green claimed that the entire tragic incident was captured on camera by the Discovery Channel crew, who were filming for Season 22 of the Deadliest Catch.
‘There’s multiple angles. I mean, they got everything,’ he alleged.
The day prior it was reported that Meadows allegedly suffered a traumatic brain injury at work just weeks before his untimely death.
According to TMZ, Meadows’s mother, Angela Meadows, said he had been taken off work on medical leave before he was given the OK to return weeks before he fell overboard from the fishing vessel.
As per the publication, Meadows’s mother said he had taken a blow to the head about a month ago while on the Aleutian Lady.
In line with injury protocols, he saw a doctor who allegedly determined that he had suffered a concussion, a form of traumatic brain injury that occurs when the brain suddenly moves or twists within the skull, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Meadows’s mother said he was flown back to Washington to recover for around a week, which marked the final time that she and her family saw him before his death.
She allegedly said that her family doesn’t place blame on Deadliest Catch for Meadows’s concussion.
While speaking to TMZ, his mother said their family does not want any footage of the fatal incident to be aired.
Meadows allegedly suffered a traumatic brain injury at work just weeks before his untimely death; He is pictured with his mother, Angela Meadows
‘We don’t want to see any footage from the accident and do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our son’s death,’ she told the publication. ‘We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat.’
Instead, she revealed the family has asked for clips of Todd crabbing at sea so they can remember him doing what he loved and ‘have the videos for memories.’
Meadows leaves behind three young sons.
A GoFundMe launched to support the boys has already raised more than $48,000.
Season 22 of Deadliest Catch has completed filming with The Aleutian Lady being the last of the vessels featured still at sea.
The Aleutian Lady and Captain Shelford have been featured on the Discovery Channel reality series from seasons 19 to 21 from 2023 to 2025.
