As the 75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota got underway on August 7, one of its famous attendees, Deadliest Catch captain Tony Lara, died that same weekend at age 50. According to the Associated Press, the reality TV star passed away early Saturday morning at a private residence in Sturgis, and authorities are now waiting for autopsy results to help determine the cause of his death.

Cast member Josh Harris posted on Facebook that Tony had passed away in his sleep. "With Heavy hearts we lost one of the original cm crew and captin to is," he wrote, adding he felt "very confused and sad."

Deadliest Catch star Tony Lara died over the weekend Photo: Facebook/tonylara

Tony had taken over the role of captain on the Cornelia Marie after Josh's father Phil Harris

died in 2010. The crabbing veteran quickly became a fan favorite on the Discovery Channel adventure show for being a lovable captain, father figure to Josh and hard worker on the crew's often dangerous fishing trips.

Tony was credited with bringing the Cornelia Marie back to life Photo: Facebook/tonylara

As much as he had a passion for the sea, he also had a passion for motorcycles, which is why he was attending the South Dakota rally along with around 1 million others. So far, 12 riders have died at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this year according to KOTA, making it the deadliest one on record.

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