"Swamp People" star Mitchell Guist died from natural causes, says coroner

(CBS/AP) DONALDSONVILLE, La. - Authorities in Louisiana say Mitchell Guist, star of the reality television show "Swamp People," died from natural causes.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley says the parish coroner, Dr. John Fraiche, made that determination after a preliminary autopsy on Guist.

Guist, who appeared in segments of the "Swamp People" with his brother, Glenn, died after collapsing Monday while working on a houseboat he was building on Belle River. He was 48.

Authorities tell The Advocate of Baton Rouge, La., Guist had just launched the houseboat and was pushing it when he collapsed.

"Mitchell passed on the swamp, doing what he loved," said History Channel spokesperson Vicky Kahn.

Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday in Gonzales.

"Swamp People," which airs on the History Channel, features residents of Louisiana's Atchafalaya swamp country during alligator-hunting season.