Deadliest Catch captain Tony Lara, 50, died from a suspected heart attack while attending motorcycle rally in South Dakota

  • Lara worked as the captain of the Cornelia Marie fishing boat on the show
  • Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin says an autopsy was completed Monday but he's still waiting on a toxicology report
  • Lara died early Saturday morning at a residence in Sturgis, South Dakota

By Kelly Mclaughlin For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 01:00 EST, 13 August 2015 | Updated: 01:02 EST, 13 August 2015

Tony Lara, who appeared on the Discovery Channel reality series Deadliest Catch, has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 50

Tony Lara, who appeared on the Discovery Channel reality series Deadliest Catch, has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 50

Tony Lara, a ship captain on the Discovery Channel television program Deadliest Catch who died in Sturgis, South Dakota, during its famous motorcycle rally, had a heart attack, preliminary autopsy results say.

Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin says an autopsy was completed Monday but he's still waiting on a toxicology report for 50-year-old Lara, a native of Alaska. 

Lara died early Saturday morning at a private residence in Sturgis.

The sheriff says he doesn't suspect the toxicology results will show anything that would have contributed to Lara's death.

TMZ reports that Lara died in his sleep. A message at a phone number associated with Lara wasn't immediately returned.

A post on the Discovery website describes Lara as a veteran crab catcher. He appeared on the show at the helm of a boat called the Cornelia Marie.

The Cornelia Marie crew has been featured on the reality series since 2004, and was previously captained by Phil Harris, before he suffered a stroke in 2010.

Lara had been serving as the boat's captain since 2011.

Sturgis is known around the country for its annual motorcycle rally. So far this year, there have been 13 fatal crashes associated with the rally.

Lara had been the captain of the crab-boat Cornelia Marie, based out of Kodiak, Alaska. He had served as captain since 2011

Lara had been the captain of the crab-boat Cornelia Marie, based out of Kodiak, Alaska. He had served as captain since 2011

TMZ reports that Lara died in his sleep while in Sturgis, South Dakota for a motorcycle rally. Pictured center with the Cornelia Marie crew

TMZ reports that Lara died in his sleep while in Sturgis, South Dakota for a motorcycle rally. Pictured center with the Cornelia Marie crew

 

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