Matt Hughes: Storm Chaser’s Death Shocking: Why Was it Kept Secret?

Matt Hughes's death is a shocker to the world after watching this week's Storm Chasers episode on the Discovery Channel. He actually passed away on May 26^th after spending several days at the hospital. Hughes suffered a fatal injury.

Aaron Blaser knew Matt Hughes for many years and claimed he had a failed suicide attempt 12 days prior to his hospitalization. Speculations are now suggesting that Hughes’s death was due to complications from the suicide attempt, though nothing official has been published on the matter at this time.

Matt Hughes's death is a shocker because he seemed perfectly fine, even happy, during his successful television show episodes. What many didn’t know was that he battled depression and had mounting issues in his home life. The specifics on Hughes’s personal life are being kept from the public, at the request of family and friends.

About 500 people gave their respects to Hughes’s family during his funeral in Wichita, Kansas. Matt Hughes was a Kansas native who skyrocketed to stardom because of his dangerous storm chasing hobby. In the 15 years that Hughes was storm chasing, it is estimated that he has seen about 100 tornadoes. He also pioneered storm tracking in the ‘Doghouse’ vehicle, first working as a spotter for Sean Casey on the Storm Chasers show.

This week’s Storm Chasers show was dedicated to Matt Hughes’s memory, which is how the majority of the nation found out about his death. The Discovery Channel has set up a memorial fund to benefit Hughes’s two young sons.

According to USA Today, Thursday, TMZ reported that Hughes committed suicide by hanging, according to a police report and the medical examiner's office in Valley Center, Kansas.

However, news of his suicide was not completely a secret. In a June 7 blog post titled "R.I.P. Matt" on Wichita's KAKE-TV's website, Aaron Blaser, a former colleague and friend of Hughes, wrote that the storm chaser had tried to commit suicide.

"Matt was in the hospital for several days in intensive care, there was a 24-hour vigil outside the waiting room, family, other chasers, business associates, etc. ... What a lot of us didn't know was that he suffered from depression" said Blaser.

On Thursday, a note on the show's site remembers Hughes. The note read:

Our thoughts and prayers are with Matt's family, and we ask fans to kindly respect their privacy. A special memorial fund has been established to benefit Matt's two young sons. Donations can be made to:

Matthew John Hughes Memorial Fund

c/o Intrust Bank

142 North Ash

Valley Center, Kansas 67147

Hughes is survived by his wife, Kendra and his two very young sons, Collin and Hunter.