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UPDATE (1:53 p.m.): TMZ reports that Storm Chasers star Joel Taylor died from a suspected drug overdose while aboard a cruise ship. A representative for the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas told TMZ that Taylor was found “unresponsive in his cabin on Tuesday.” According to the report, “drugs on the party boat were plentiful” (including GHB, Ecstasy and cocaine) and “38-year old Taylor was partaking.” A law enforcement official tells TMZ, “It appears the death could be an overdose and Joel Taylor was consuming controlled substances.”
It’s a sad day for fans of the Discovery Channel show Storm Chasers. Late last night, Reed Timmer, star of the popular series, revealed on Twitter that his co-star Joel Taylor has unexpectedly passed away. Officials are still trying to figure out the cause of Taylor’s sudden death, but friends of the beloved tornado chaser have insisted that “there is no answer at this time.”
Taylor grew up in Oklahoma in “Tornado Alley,” an area of the U.S. known for its repeated bouts of severe weather. After studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, Taylor joined the Storm Chasers cast in 2008. Together, Taylor and Timmer rode into the heart of intense storms for four years until Discovery Channel cancelled the show in 2012.
Taylor’s local storm chasing group, Team Western OK Chaser, describes the Storm Chasers star as “one of the most level headed chasers on the roads and truly a classy guy outside of chasing.” Unlike many reality stars, the group states that “he didn’t chase for the glory he chased because he had a true passion for storms. In the last few years he’d load up with his dad and go chase and not even take a camera.”
RIP, Joe Taylor.
(via Daily Mail and USA Today)
