The two-time MTV winner had been in front of an audience just two days earlier in Minneapolis. Days later, police found him dead at his Grand Forks home. The cause of his death is unknown.

When the fans last saw him

Tyler Duckworth was still on the center of laughter in Minneapolis. When the former MTV competitor showed up at the Challenge Mania fan event on July 31, he was reunited with the reality-TV family that watched him swim, strategize, eat, endure and win. He was a surprise to the crowd and even to some former castmates, Scott Yager, co-host of Challenge Mania says.

Duckworth then sent images from the event, which included photos of her and other veterans in attendance, including Rachel Robinson, Brad Fiorenza, Tina Barta and Mark Long. He described his love for his hometown and how the fans' “stories of courage, inspiration & joy” were “humbling”.

“Like he did every day, he put a smile on everyone’s face and lit up the room with his infectious energy and incredible stories,” Yager said to PEOPLE. “We loved him very much and he will be greatly missed by the whole Challenge fandom and community around the world.”

Within two weeks of that, that was the final time many fans would see him in public.

According to several news reports and his family, Duckworth passed away at the age of 44 after being a double winner of MTV's The Challenge and a previous cast member on the MTV reality show The Real World: Key West. His mother, Joni Duckworth, posted the news on Facebook on Thursday, Aug. 13, which read, “My son, Tyler, passed away earlier this week.” The cause of death was still unknown and funeral details would be available following the arrangements," she added.

About 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, Grand Forks police responded to a call from downstairs neighbors saying they heard water bubbling up through their ceiling. Officers found that the leak was coming from Duckworth's bathroom faucet, which was where they discovered his body, PEOPLE reported.

There was no apparent sign of foul play or suspicious death, police said. Authorities said the cause of his death was still under investigation and it will take 10 to 12 weeks for toxicology tests to be finished. It wasn't known how long Duckworth had been dead, but he had been spotted the day before, police said.

Behind the television star

Duckworth's story took off in 2006 when the viewer watched him perform on The Real World: Key West shortly after graduating from Tufts University. He then continued his career with The Challenge, building his reputation over 6 seasons in The Duel, The Gauntlet III, Cutthroat, Rivals, All Stars 2 and All Stars 3. He captured Cutthroat, and also won Rivals with Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio.

He was a very accomplished athlete. According to USA TODAY, Duckworth was a student of comparative religion at Tufts and a member of the men's swimming team. On Cutthroat, he defeated Johnny Devenanzio in the famous “Bananas Backpack” elimination before taking on and going toe to toe with C.T. Tamburello in a bout that lasted about 40 minutes. He then went on to win another championship at Rivals.

Derrick Kosinski, who once shared a room at All Stars 2 with Duckworth, recalled an All Stars teammate, not a competitor. He called Duckworth “an amazing human being,” a “bright light” and an “incredible joy to be around.” Kosinski also said that Duckworth's achievements were also underrated, with his wins against some of the most famous players in the franchise.

Wes Bergmann also painted a picture of a man in a tribute he posted on X. “Tyler was a remarkable man and a greatfriend to many”, Bergmann wrote. “He made fantastictelevision. He was a great challenger. He was a very good swimmer. And eater. This is a really tough loss. Call yourfriends people.”

Tina Barta wrote that their Minneapolis meeting was more than a meeting. It was, she said, a friendship that was “few things have in common besides the history, the laughter and the experiences.” Brad Fiorenza wrote, “RIP my brother”, and Rachel Robinson said, “May your memory be a blessing for us all. We love you”.

However, Duckworth's life post-reality TV was also a bit murky, as the once familiar reality TV chase for another trophy was complicated. He told PEOPLE in a 2021 interview that he was a middle- and high-school teacher. He is also was working on a doctorate. The Challenge winner Duckworth was asked what prompted him to come back after his two wins and responded with a less celebrity and more self-knowledge: “I justwant 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”

What is known and what is not known

The detailed description of Duckworth's death is an incomplete one. No cause has been shared, and an autopsy and toxicology report are pending, so it would be irresponsible to speculate. None of the reports reviewed here indicate foul play, although they do not provide an explanation for what occurred prior to the neighbor's call.

Now sits a much stronger public memory: Duckworth as the competitive swimmer, the academic dreamer, the teammate who could make an elimination a television reality, and the known face who came back to Minneapolis because the fans still mattered to him.

After the July meeting, he wrote: “The fans are what keep us coming out!” It was a simple sentence, but now it's a goodbye sentence. He was a “beloved member of The Real World and The Challenge family”, the official Challenge account said, adding that he would be deeply missed.

Duckworth's last chapter wasn't penned in a confessional booth or under a bright light in a TV studio. It was composed by those who witnessed his stories and made space lighter. His death will be a cause that may be known in the future. That he's gone, so suddenly, is already obvious: he just got here, for those who followed him in the ring and for his friends outside the ring.