'Storm Chasers' star Hughes dies after suicide attempt

"Storm Chasers" star Matt Hughes died May 26 after a suicide attempt, although news of his death only became widely known Thursday. A tribute to Hughes aired on Wednesday night's program.

Meteorologist Aaron Blaser, Hughes' colleague at the Wichita, Kan., ABC affiliate KAKE, had blogged on the station's website in June that on May 12, Hughes "was taken to the hospital after trying to take his life. . . . Matt was in the hospital for several days in intensive care, there was a 24 hour vigil outside the waiting room. . . . but several days later, after serious complications arose, I knew we were going to lose him."

TMZ.com said Thursday that police in Valley Center, Kan., where Hughes lived with his wife, Kenda, and sons Collin and Hunter, had responded to a suicide call at his home. The police report said Hughes, 30, had been drinking before a suicide attempt. The local medical examiner's report gave "hanging" as the cause of Hughes' death 13 days later.

"What a lot of us didn't know was that he suffered from depression," Blaser wrote. "While the professional side of Matt was going fine, his personal life was [anything] but. . . . [T]here was never any illegal activity, but an accumulation of issues at home were mounting, and he kept it to himself until the end."

The TV station has established a memorial fund for Hughes' children.