'Storm Chasers' Star Joel Taylor Dies of Apparent Drug Overdose While on Cruise

Joel Taylor, who starred in the Discovery Channel show Storm Chasers, has died after he reportedly suffered a drug overdose during a cruise Tuesday.

The 38-year-old was found unresponsive in his cabin Tuesday on a Royal Caribbean ship, reports said.

Passengers on the Harmony of the Seas claimed they witnessed Taylor taking drugs, including ecstasy and cocaine, on the ship, the New York Daily News reported. 

Another passenger said Taylor was knocked unconscious after consuming a large quantity of GHB, an anti-sleep medication used to treat narcolepsy, on the dance floor, the paper reported.

“I am shocked and absolutely devastated by the loss of my incredible, caring friend,” Taylor's Storm Chasers co-star, Reed Timmer, tweeted Tuesday. “We lost a legend.”

The Harmony of the Seas set sail on Jan. 20 and was set to return to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Saturday morning, but police arrived on the scene when the ship docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A representative with Royal Caribbean did not confirm Taylor’s identity, but did send sympathies to the family of the victim.

“We extend our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the 38-year-old male guest from the United States who died while onboard Harmony of the Seas,” Owen Torres told InsideEdition.com 

Taylor, who studied meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, joined Storm Chasers in 2008 as part of a team that included Timmer, his college buddy. Both had appeared on the website TornadoVideos.net.

Taylor was followed on the show until its 2012 cancellation.

Team Western Oklahoma Chaser, a group Taylor was a part of, also posted about his death.

“He didn’t chase for the glory he chased because he had a true passion for storms," the group said. "In the last few years he’d load up with his dad and go chase and not even take a camera. Our hearts are hurting for his mom Tracy and dad Jimmy along with his brother and sister and their children. Please know you are in our prayers. RIP Joel.”

Taylor was born in Elk City, Okla., and was living in Norman.

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