Ryan Knight From The Real World Found Dead at Age 28 on Thanksgiving, Police Launch Investigation

His death comes about two weeks after Diem Brown, one of his co-stars on spinoff The Challenge, lost her battle to cancer at age 32

By Corinne Heller Nov 28, 2014 9:25 PMTags
Ryan KnightMike Coppola/Getty Images

Sad news this Thanksgiving holiday: The Real World star Ryan Knight has died. He was 28.

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, just after 10 a.m., police in Kenosha, Wisconsin received a call about "a 28-year-old male was unconscious and not breathing" inside a home. Officers and paramedics arrived at the scene and were unable to resuscitate the person, who was identified as Knight. He was a cast member on MTV's The Real World: New Orleans in 2010 and The Real World and Road Rules spinoff The Challenge in 2013.

"We are saddened to hear the news of the passing of Ryan Knight," MTV said in a statement to E! News on Friday. "Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this difficult time."

Knight's death comes about two weeks after one of his co-stars on The ChallengeDiem Brownlost her battle to cancer at age 32. He was one of several of her former colleagues and friends who had expressed condolences over her death on Twitter.

The Kenosha Police Department said in a statement on Facebook that they have launched an investigation to find out the cause of Knight's death, adding that there were no obvious signs of injuries.

"The investigation so far has revealed that Ryan was out with friends the evening of Nov. 26 [Wednesday] and the early morning hours of Nov. 27 [Thursday]," the statement said. "Ryan was at a friend's residence."

A final tweet had been posted on Knight's Twitter page on Thursday at 2 a.m. It read: "You used to mean a lot."

Police said a witness told them that he saw Ryan sleeping on the floor between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. and saw two hours later that he was unconscious and not breathing.

A doctor performed an autopsy on Friday and did not find an "anatomical cause of death," the statement said. A toxicology report is pending.

Knight, police said, had suffered from stomach issues over the past two days.

"At this time we are looking into the death as being medical or accidental, pending toxicology," the statement said, adding, "The Kenosha Police Department extends its sympathy and condolences to the entire Knight family, but especially his father, who was a great friend and co-worker for many years."