Police say 33 year old Justin Tennison was found dead Tuesday afternoon in a hotel room in Homer, Alaska. Tennison was a crew member of the Time Bandit, one of the fishing vessels on the popular Discovery Channel series, "Deadliest Catch." Fishing on the Bering Sea is one of the most hazardous professions on the planet. Days spent lugging around heavy equipment amid giant swells and icy blasts of sea-soaked air is not for the faint of heart. The isolation of those remote waters, the winter months shrouded in darkness and prone to stormy skies, the high winds and ice-covered decks all stack the deck for hypothermia, drowning and other life-threatening accidents. Lt. Randy Rosencrans says Tennison died of unknown causes and an autopsy will be performed by the state medical examiner's office Wednesday afternoon. Discovery spokesman Josh Weinberg released a statement saying the channel sends its sympathies to his family and fellow crew members. Police arrived at the Best Western Bidarka Inn in Homer, Alaska after receiving a call at 12:52 p.m. Tennison, 33, was lying in bed unresponsive. A small amount of marijuana and several bottles of alcohol were discovered in the room, police told TMZ.com, but it is not yet known if that contributed to his death. Police believe Tennison hosted a party there the night before. His body was transported to the state medical examiner, where an autopsy will be performed Wednesday. Time Bandit captain Andy Hillstrand wrote on Facebook that Tennison had worked as an engineer on the boat during offseason, and had just joined the crew as a deckhand in recent months for crab season. Back in July 2010, Discovery aired the last episode with Captain Phil Harris at the helm of the Cornelia Marie. Harris had passed away in February 2010. The episode took place on the angry, rolling Bering Sea during a 1,000 square mile Arctic storm. Aside from the regular crew happenings on the Time Bandit and Northwestern fishing vessels on Harris' final episode, the show was followed with a special tribute, After the Catch. Phil was a star of Deadliest Catch from the series premiere in 2005, but what the crew shared on TV for just a few years was only a small part of his life as a fisherman and father. He worked for 18 years as captain and co-owner of the Cornelia Marie and for 32 years in the fishing industry. The son of a fisherman, Phil was also the father of Jake and Josh Harris who both served and learned under him on the Cornelia Marie. Phil was above all a fighter, especially in the last years of his life when he was forced to confront serious health issues. According to his family, 2009 was one of the worst winters on the Bering Sea in many years. Struggles with the ice were almost overwhelming at times and the season seemed to drag on forever. In the end, the Cornelia Marie met her quota, but the battle with the terrible weather took its toll. Phil returned home, got his "land legs" back, but then spent the summer with too many personal appearances, too much travel and not enough rest." "October soon arrived with the next king crab season. The Bering Sea once again called Phil and hundreds of other fishermen back to do battle in what has become for many a seasonal migration they would rather die than miss. Low quotas led to the early end of a mostly uneventful season, and Phil was determined to make up for it in the new year." "On January 29, 2010, Phil and crew were off-loading the Cornelia Marie at St. Paul Island, Alaska. The boat's engineer, Steve Ward found Phil on the floor of the stateroom, having suffered a stroke." Phil was flown to Anchorage, where he underwent a 12-hour procedure to repair the damage to his brain. He was placed in a medical coma, but even that couldn't keep him completely quiet. He recovered long enough to share his wit and love for his family and friends before passing on February 9.
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