Mitchell James Guist (May 18, 1964 – May 14, 2012), was an alligator hunter and

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

star who starred in the television show ''

Swamp People ''Swamp People'' is an American reality television series that was first broadcast on History on August 22, 2010. The show follows the day-to-day activities of alligator hunters living in the swamps of the Atchafalaya River Basin who hunt Ameri ...

'' until his death on May 14, 2012, from natural causes.

Early life

Mitchell Guist was born in 1964 in

Gonzales, Louisiana Gonzales is a city in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,231. Known as the " Jambalaya Capital of the World", it is famous for its annual Jambalaya Festival, which was first held in 1968 ...

, and lived with his brother, Glenn, for his entire life. Mitchell spent most of his early life with his parents until he was 18 and moved into his own home in the

bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

with Glenn.

TV career

In 2011, Mitchell and Glenn became stars on the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

's reality show, ''Swamp People''. They became instant stars on the History Channel and had a fan club. On ''Swamp People'' they would regularly be featured hunting for their dinner which included

alligator gar The alligator gar (''Atractosteus spatula'') is a euryhaline ray-finned fish in the clade Ginglymodi of the infraclass Holostei , being most closely related to the bowfins. It is the largest species in the gar family (biology), family (Lepisost ...

blue catfish The blue catfish (''Ictalurus furcatus'') is a large species of North American catfish, reaching a length of and a weight of . The continent's largest catfish, it can live to 20 years, with a typical fish being between and . Native distribution ...

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

cottontail rabbit Cottontail rabbits are in the ''Sylvilagus'' genus, which is in the family Leporidae. They are found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characterist ...

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

bullfrog ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species Americas *Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile *American bullf ...

alligator snapping turtle The alligator snapping turtle (''Macrochelys temminckii'') is a large species of turtle in the Family (biology), family Chelydridae. They are the largest freshwater turtle in North America. The species is Endemism, endemic to freshwater habitat ...

, and once by accident an American alligator. Mitchell and Glenn were both featured in a ''Swamp People'' special where they hunted cottontail rabbits, later trading them for snapping turtles. Mitchell and Glenn were also featured in the 2012 third season of ''Swamp People''.

Death

On May 14, 2012, Mitchell Guist suffered an accident on the Belle River near Pierre Part. According to authorities he slipped and fell while loading items onto his boat. It was initially reported that he suffered a seizure, but it is unclear whether the seizure was a result of the fall or if it was caused by a medical condition. It was later revealed that Guist suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. Guist was pronounced dead at a Morgan City hospital; the coroner for Ascension Parish later determined that his death was due to natural causes.Associated Press, via nola.com: "'Swamp People' star Mitchell Guist died of natural causes, coroner says", May 17, 2012.
/ref> He died 4 days before his 48th birthday. He was buried at Lusk Cemetery in

. The "Voodoo Bayou" episode of ''Swamp People'', originally aired on May 17, 2012, was dedicated in Guist's memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guist, Mitchell 1964 births 2012 deaths People from Gonzales, Louisiana American television personalities