Deadliest Catch star Todd Meadows’ eerie last words to kids moments before falling overboard revealed in season finale
THE EERIE last words of Deadliest Catch star Todd Meadows to his children have been revealed in the season 22 finale.
Meadows, 25, was killed when he fell overboard while he and his crew mates were filming this latest series which ended on The Discovery Channel on Friday.
The rookie deckhand fell off the Aleutian Lady in a fishing accident on The Bering Sea and died from downing with possible hypothermia on February 25, 2026.
In the final episode of Season 22, a touching segment showed before and after his death, and captured his final conversation with his children just moments before the accident.
In a FaceTime call, he told his three children, all under five, that he was “being safe” and promised a fishing trip when he saw them again.
“I hope you’re being safe,” his daughter said on the call.
read more on deadliest catch
“If you’re not being safe, you better be safe.”
“Oh, I’m being safe,” he told her.
He promised his son a salmon fishing trip when he returned, telling producers on-camera that it was a “heart-wrencher” to leave his children at home for long stretches.
“It’s been one of my dreams and goals to make it up here,” he said, speaking of joining the crew for the season.
Most read in Entertainment
“That’s why I’m up here to make it and to try to support my family.”
Another part of the season finale captured the chaos surrounding the moment he fell overboard, without the actual fall or subsequent actions being shown on camera.
Captain Rick, who announced Meadows’ death, is filmed manning the vessel and asking “Everybody OK?” before the crew say that a man has gone overboard.
As he turns the boat and instructs them to ready the ring and crane, he tells the crew: “I got my eye on him.”
They successfully got Meadows out of the frigid sea and the Captain instructed them to perform CPR.
“Come on, man, come on, someone go get the AUD right now,” he says off camera with him tearfully telling the crew to “keep pumping” before a producer says, “He’s gone, Rick.”
A statement on screen read: “On February 25th, 2026, deckhand Todd Meadows went overboard.
“After six minutes and twenty-six seconds in the water, he was recovered unresponsive.”
The episode then showed the aftermath of his death and its impact on the crew.
It ends with a cut back to Meadows as he prepares food in the kitchen and answers a producer’s question about what he would want to say to his children.
“Work towards your dreams and goals, don’t let anything slow you down. If you put your mind to it, you can do anything.
“Just want my kids to know I want them to work hard and be successful in life.”
Weeks before his fall, Meadows suffered a serious head injury onboard and was sent home on medical leave before being cleared again for work on September 18.
His week of medical leave saw him go back to his family while nursing his concussion which would tragically be the last time he saw them.
“The last photo I got of him was when he was building a fire. He was listening to music in the moment and was so happy,” his mom Angela said at the time.
“That’s how I want to remember him.”
