Justin “J.T.” Tennison did not die aboard the Time Bandit, while fishing, or in a known accident at sea. The 33-year-old Deadliest Catch crew member was found unresponsive in a hotel room in Homer, Alaska, on February 22, 2011, shortly after returning from the crab-fishing season. The initial police reports said the cause of death was undetermined and that foul play was not suspected. Later reporting attributed his death to complications related to sleep apnea.
Who was Justin Tennison?
Justin “J.T.” Tennison was a deckhand on the F/V Time Bandit, the fishing vessel captained by brothers Andy and Jonathan Hillstrand. He had also worked as an engineer during tendering seasons. He was not the boat’s captain or one of the show’s principal long-running personalities, but he was a working member of the crew and was expected to appear in the seventh season of Deadliest Catch.
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That season would ultimately introduce viewers to Tennison after his death, making his story particularly painful for the Time Bandit crew and the show’s audience.
What happened to Justin Tennison?
Tennison had recently returned to Homer after the Bering Sea crab-fishing season. On Tuesday, February 22, 2011, he was found unresponsive in a room at the Best Western Bidarka Inn in Homer, Alaska. ABC later described his death as occurring four days after he returned from sea.
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The date can appear differently in contemporary accounts because the crew’s announcement, attributed to Captain Andy Hillstrand, said Tennison had “died peacefully in his sleep” on the night of February 21. Authorities reported finding him on February 22. The crew’s wording reflected what was understood at the time; it was not a medical determination of the cause of death.
Police said beer, hard liquor, and a small amount of marijuana were found in the room. Those details were included in early reporting, but they did not establish that alcohol or marijuana caused Tennison’s death. The reports also said that an autopsy was pending, that the cause was not yet known, and that foul play was not suspected.
What was the cause of death?
The most careful answer separates the initial investigation from later coverage:
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- Initial reports: The cause of death was undetermined while authorities awaited the medical examination.
- Later reporting: ABC reported that Tennison died from complications related to sleep apnea.
- What should not be claimed: The available reporting does not support saying that he died from drinking, marijuana use, a party, a fishing accident, or an incident aboard the Time Bandit.
Because the publicly accessible reporting used for this account does not reproduce the underlying medical-examiner document, “later reporting attributed his death to complications related to sleep apnea” is more precise than presenting a detailed medical conclusion as though the official death record were available.
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Tennison’s death came after he had completed a season in one of television’s most dangerous working environments. The apparent contradiction was difficult for the crew and viewers to absorb: he had returned from the Bering Sea, but died on shore in a Homer hotel only days later.
His second cousin and fellow crew member Eddie Uwekoolani told ABC that he had seen Tennison the previous evening. Uwekoolani also explained that the men often discussed last wishes because of the risks associated with their work. That detail gives the loss a personal dimension without requiring speculation about Tennison’s final hours.
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The timing also intensified the grief surrounding the series. Captain Phil Harris had died in February 2010 after suffering a stroke, less than a year before Tennison’s death. Discovery expressed sympathy for Tennison’s family and fellow crew members. The Time Bandit statement described him as “tough as a bull” and an “all-around good hand.” Those statements support describing the crew as mourning and devastated, although it would be too broad to claim that every cast member personally used the word “shocked.”
Did Justin Tennison die at sea?
No. Tennison’s body was found at the Best Western Bidarka Inn in Homer, not on the Time Bandit, another fishing boat, or in the Bering Sea.
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How did Deadliest Catch remember him?
Tennison was scheduled to make his first appearance on the program posthumously in season seven. ABC reported that the season would address the crew’s mourning, and CBS reported that the season-seven finale was dedicated to him.
Later episode listings describe the Time Bandit crew carrying Tennison’s ashes and scattering them in the Bering Sea as a memorial. That ceremony happened after his death and should not be confused with the location or cause of death. The sea was the place where his colleagues honored him—not where the reported death occurred.
Viewers who want to revisit the season associated with Tennison’s posthumous appearance can look for the Deadliest Catch: Season 7 DVD; physical-media inventory and pricing can change. The season is also the most relevant place to begin for viewers interested in how the program handled the crew’s loss.
Related reading about the Time Bandit and Bering Sea fishing
For more context about the vessel and the Hillstrand family, readers may also want the Time Bandit memoir, Time Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea, and One of the World’s Deadliest Jobs. It is a broader account of the boat, its captains, and commercial fishing—not a biography of Tennison.
Other books, including Deadliest Catch: Desperate Hours and nonfiction about Bering Sea crab fishing, can provide additional background on the work portrayed by the series. They should be treated as related reading rather than as authoritative sources for the circumstances of Tennison’s death.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The accurate takeaway
Justin Tennison was a 33-year-old Time Bandit deckhand who had recently returned from crab fishing when he was found unresponsive in a Homer hotel on February 22, 2011. Early reports left the cause undetermined; later coverage attributed the death to complications related to sleep apnea. The available evidence does not show that he died at sea or as the result of a known fishing accident.
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His death shocked and saddened the people who worked with him because it followed a dangerous season and came soon after he returned to shore. Deadliest Catch later remembered him during season seven, and his crewmates honored him by scattering his ashes in the Bering Sea.
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Did Justin Tennison die on the Time Bandit?
No. He was found unresponsive in a room at the Best Western Bidarka Inn in Homer, Alaska, after returning from the crab-fishing season.
What was reported as Justin Tennison’s cause of death?
Early police reports said the cause was undetermined while an autopsy was pending. Later ABC reporting attributed his death to complications related to sleep apnea. The available reporting does not establish that alcohol or marijuana caused his death.
How old was Justin Tennison when he died?
He was 33 years old.
Was Justin Tennison featured on Deadliest Catch after his death?
Yes. He was expected to appear posthumously in season seven, which addressed the Time Bandit crew’s mourning. The season-seven finale was dedicated to him.
Where were Justin Tennison’s ashes scattered?
Later episode listings describe the Time Bandit crew carrying his ashes and scattering them in the Bering Sea as a memorial. This happened after his death and was not the location where he died.
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The Bottom Line
Justin Tennison died on shore, not at sea. The Time Bandit deckhand was found in a Homer hotel shortly after the 2011 crab-fishing season. Initial reports listed the cause as undetermined; later reporting attributed it to complications related to sleep apnea. Season seven of Deadliest Catch memorialized Tennison and the crew later scattered his ashes in the Bering Sea.
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