New details have emerged about the death of “The Challenge” champion Tyler Duckworth.
The Grand Forks Police Department told People that officers found Duckworth dead inside his apartment on Tuesday, Aug. 11. He was 44.
According to police, officers responded to the apartment at approximately 11:45 a.m. after downstairs neighbors reported water coming through their ceiling. Officers entered Duckworth’s apartment and determined that the water was coming from the bathtub in his bathroom, where they also found his body.
Police said they did not know how long Duckworth had been deceased but confirmed that someone had seen him the previous day. Authorities said there were no apparent signs of foul play or circumstances indicating a suspicious death.
Duckworth’s cause of death remains undetermined.
Tyler Duckworth’s Cause of Death Remains Pending
The Grand Forks Police Department told the outlet that Duckworth’s cause of death is “pending the results of an autopsy.”
Authorities will also conduct a toxicology report, which police said could take between 10 and 12 weeks to complete.
Duckworth’s mother, Joni Duckworth, first confirmed her son’s death in an Aug. 13 Facebook post.
“My son, Tyler, passed away earlier this week. Cause of death has yet to be determined,” Joni wrote. “I will post on Facebook about services as soon as his dad and I figure it out.”
Duckworth died less than two weeks after making a public appearance with several of his former “The Challenge” co-stars.
On July 31, Duckworth attended a Challenge Mania event in Minneapolis alongside Rachel Robinson, Brad Fiorenza, Tina Barta and Mark Long. He later shared photos from the event on Instagram and reflected on getting another opportunity to meet fans of the MTV franchise.
“@challengemaniapodcast always knows how to bring the BEST of the BEST together!!” Duckworth wrote. “So proud to represent my hometown of Minneapolis along with these other challenge legends.”
“The fans are what keep us coming out! Hearing your stories of courage, inspiration & joy that you’ve got being a fan of the franchise is humbling each and every time,” he continued. “Also, pretty sure we nailed the cast photo for the lost season of ‘The Real World: Minneapolis’!! Thank you Minneapolis!”
‘The Real World’ Star Won 2 Seasons of ‘The Challenge’
Duckworth first joined the MTV reality television world when he appeared on “The Real World: Key West” in 2006 after graduating from Tufts University.
He later became a familiar face on “The Challenge,” competing on six seasons of the franchise: “The Duel,” “The Gauntlet III,” “Cutthroat,” “Rivals,” “All Stars 2” and “All Stars 3.”
Duckworth won “Cutthroat” and “Rivals,” giving him two championships during his time on the series.
After nearly a decade away from competition, Duckworth returned to the franchise for “All Stars 2.” In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, he explained that his decision to return wasn’t about trying to add another championship to his résumé.
“I won two in a row and won against pretty stacked casts, but that was 11 years ago,” Duckworth said. “And this sounds really sappy, but when you’ve already won, especially two in a row, for me it was more about: I just want to compete. I want to see if I still have it, if I can jump off crazy-high things or if I can do puzzles.”
At the time of that interview, Duckworth was also working as a middle school and high school teacher.
