After previous reports that he had gone missing, Shain Gandee, the star of the MTV reality show "Buckwild," was found dead along with two other people in West Virginia, according to multiple media reports on Monday.
"This is a very sad and tragic event," Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper said, according to CNN. "We live in a very small community. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Gandee family. The full details will be released later by the Kanawha County Sheriff Department."
Buckwild's 12-episode run debuted on MTV earlier this year, on Jan. 3, 2013. The show follows the lives of nine young adults in Sissonville, W.Va., and Charleston, W.Va., as they make their own fun and excitement in their small towns. On the show, Gandee was described as the former high school prom king who did "every job from coal mining to being a garbage man," according to CNN.
About a month after it began airing, MTV announced on Feb. 6 that the show would come back for a second series. TMZ reported that the 21-year-old Gandee was last heard from about 3 a.m. Sunday, when Gandee and his uncle, David Gandee, said they planned to go out and have some fun on a four-wheeler.
Searchers eventually found three bodies inside a vehicle. Commissioner Carper told station WOWK in Charleston that police told him that the two bodies found included Shain and David Gandee. The identity of the third body wasn't released as of Monday afternoon because, police told the media, the person's family had yet to be notified.
MTV released the following statement: "We are shocked and saddened by the terrible news about Shain Gandee and those involved in this tragic incident. We are waiting for more information but at this time, our main concern is for the Gandee family and their friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Shain had a magnetic personality, with a passion for life that touched everyone he met and we will miss him dearly."
How Gandee's death would affect the future of the reality TV show remained unclear Monday.
