‘Alaskan Bush People’ Star Ami Brown’s Great-Niece Danelle Branson Dies at 29

Danelle Branson, the great-niece of Alaskan Bush People star Ami Brown, has died. She was 29.

According to her obituary via Legacy.com, Danelle passed away on Friday, January 26, 2024, in Mineral Wells, Texas. She was the daughter of former Alaskan Bush People star Amber Branson, who died on May 2, 2020, following severe injuries sustained in a fire that occurred in her Texas home.

Danelle’s obituary reads, “She enjoyed writing poetry, drawing, fishing, gardening, dancing, following fashion trends, listening to music, watching movies, spending time with her children and visiting with family and friends.”

According to The U.S. Sun, a Texas coroner said, “The suspected cause at the scene was suicide by gunshot.” The results of an autopsy to confirm the final cause of death are pending.

The Sun also reported that Danelle’s uncle, Les Branson, confirmed the passing on Facebook, where he allegedly wrote, “It is with great sadness that I must relay to you that my great niece, Danelle Sarae Branson, took her own life yesterday. She is the daughter of my late niece, Amber Branson.”

Alaskan Bush People is a docudrama-style reality series that premiered on the Discovery Channel on May 6, 2014. The show follows the extended Brown family as they live off-the-grid in the Alaskan wilderness (and later in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State). It last aired its 14th season between October and December 2022.

The show has been surrounded by tragedy in recent years, with various deaths in the family. Following the passing of Amber in May 2020, the show’s star and patriarch, Billy Brown, died in February 2021 after suffering a fatal seizure while on top of North Star Ranch. He was 68.

“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved patriarch Billy Brown passed away last night after suffering from a seizure,” Billy’s son, Bear Brown, wrote on Instagram at the time. “He was our best friend — a wonderful and loving dad, granddad and husband and he will be dearly missed.”

Billy’s death came less than a year after Amber’s tragic passing. At the time, Les told The U.S. Sun that when police arrived on the scene, “They found Amber with severe burns over 90 percent of her body. She told the police that her injuries were self-inflicted.”

There was also a scare in April 2017 when Ami was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. The family moved from Alaska to Washington State so that Ami could be closer to Los Angeles, where she would travel for her checkups every three months. Ami ultimately beat her cancer.