'Buckwild' Is Suspended After Shain Gandee's Death; MTV's Hit Reality Show Halted Indefinitely

MTV’s hit show “Buckwild” will be suspended after cast member Shain Gandee died, the channel announced Monday.

The youth-oriented cable channel confirmed to the Huffington Post the show would stop filming its second season and that the future of the West Virginia reality series had not yet been determined.

“We are shocked and saddened by the terrible news about Shain Gandee, and those involved in this tragic incident," the network said in a statement. "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."

To the dismay of Gandee’s fans, his death was not an April Fool's Twitter hoax. The Kanawha County Sheriff's Department reported Gandee missing Monday morning, and police later confirmed the 21-year-old reality-star was found dead in a 1984 Ford Bronco with two others at the end of a dirt road in Sissonville.

Cpl. B.D. Humphreys said the body of Shain's uncle, David Gandee, 48, was also in the vehicle, Fox reported. The MTV reality star and his uncle had been reported missing on Sunday.

The third body was identified late Monday as that of Donald Robert Myers, 27, another Sissonville area resident. Humphreys said the case is under investigation but foul play was not suspected.

According to CBS, the men were last seen around 3 a.m. Sunday in a bar where they had told patrons they were going to go off-road driving, which the characters from the hit shot called “mudding.”

“Buckwild” follows nine young adults during their escapades in West Virginia. It’s a light-hearted show that’s been described as “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” meets “Jersey Shore” by the Huffington Post.

Some reviewers referred to the show as the “Appalachian Jersey Shore.” Gandee was considered the breakout star of the series and called himself “the redneck MacGyver” on the show after the iconic character who used to make intricate devices out of everyday objects.

According to the New York Times, the show, which garnered an average of 3.2 million viewers per episode, has been suspended indefinitely.