The struggles of life on the high seas are not to be taken lightly, as “Deadliest Catch” has taught us throughout the many years it has aired. Nonetheless, while the difficulties of being a commercial fisherman are well documented by the show since its beginnings, no one could have prepared us for all the issues that one cast member would face.
After the unfortunate death of his father Captain Phil Harris, Jake Harris has passed through many difficulties and issues in life, some of which have put him behind bars and very well away from his family’s business.
Now that it’s been a long while since we knew anything of Jake’s whereabouts, many questions about his life, the events of his past, and his currently complex family situation are back on “Deadliest Catch”s fans’ minds. Are you also wanting to know where Jake is now as well? Stay here to know all!
Where Is Jake Now?
Those who have been following “Deadliest Catch” for enough time know well that Jake Harris hasn’t had the best of times in the last decade. Between several arrests, drug issues and even being robbed and beaten at some point, fans of the show lost hope that Jake could ever return to TV, and board his father’s beloved ship Cornelia Marie again.
Nonetheless, Jake’s life is apparently going well these days. In January 2022, he opened a new public Facebook page, and announced to the world that he had recently become a father. His daughter named Tru was born in December 2022, but she isn’t the only child in his young family with his current-partner Shawna Brinkly, as both had been raising two children from her previous relationship.
This was confirmed by Jake’s brother Josh in an interview with TVShowsAce in 2021: ‘His girl has a couple of kids, and he loves being a dad, and he’s really good at it. He’s really good with kids. That keeps him really busy’.
Besides personal matters, in early 2023, Jake announced that he’d been working on creating merchandise for the Cornelia Marie to sell. Though it’s unknown when that project will come to fruition, it’s great to see he’s working on so many positive things.
Is Jake Coming Back To The Show?
Although recent updates on Jake Harris point out that he’s in a good place in his life, the possibility of him appearing again in “Deadliest Catch” doesn’t seem that high.
Going back to 2021, Jake briefly appeared in the second season premiere of “Bloodline”, a “Deadliest Catch” spin-off starring his brother Josh, and centered on discovering some navigational secrets of their late father Phil. During an interview with TVShowsAce, Josh admitted that the possibility of Jake returning to work on the Cornelia Marie was high, and with it, his return to the show’s next season: ‘If he’s comfortable and feels good enough and strong enough to come back to work, then we’re here with open arms for him’, he said.
Nonetheless, things didn’t work as expected for the Harris brothers. In May of that year, Jake was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) and spent a short time in jail. On his part, Josh was fired from “Deadliest Catch” in late 2023, after his sexual abuse criminal records from the 1990s were uncovered by the media. The severity of the latter situation makes it seem unlikely for both Harris brothers to return to TV for the time being.
What advice would you give to Jake Harris? #CorneliaMarie pic.twitter.com/x1kehFIH80
— Deadliest Catch (@DeadliestCatch) April 22, 2015
Why Was Josh Fired From The Show?
The year 2022 wasn’t a good one for Captain Josh Harris from the Cornelia Marie vessel. As reported by Radar Online in September of that year, criminal records show that Josh was accused of sexually abusing a four-year-old girl in 1998, when he was 16 years old.
The case didn’t advance until in 1999, when a delayed DNA test proved that fluids found at the crime scene were his. Josh confessed in court to having ‘offensively’ touched the victim with ‘immoral purposes’ and seeking sexual gratification, as the news portal reported. Although he was initially charged with one count of first-degree rape of a minor, he pleaded guilty to an amended count of assault, and was sentenced to 30 days of house confinement and 150 days of community service.
Josh was supervised for 24 months following his sentence, and was required to undergo psychological tests, as his prosecutor determined that he needed ‘sex offender’ treatment.
With this once-long forgotten issue out in the open, Discovery resorted to firing Josh Harris from “Deadliest Catch” right away, and a representative from the network affirmed that it was a definitive, long-term decision. As a last move from the show, Josh was entirely taken off their social media and website, and his appearances in the rest of “Deadliest Catch” 18th season episodes were removed.
Why Was Jake Arrested In 2021?
Jake Harris’ most recent encounter with the law took place in May 2021, when he was busted for DUI and other minor crimes. As reported by TMZ, Jake was driving a Dodge Journey SUV around Mount Vernon, in Washington State, surpassing the area’s 70mph speed limit.
Despite signaling him to pull over, Jake reportedly drove a further three miles before stopping. After a quick checkout, officers found out that not only had Jake had his license revoked, but also that he failed to have an interlocking device installed on the car, which was mandatory given how he had served jail time before for DUI.
While Jake argued that the SUV didn’t belong to him, and thus couldn’t have such a device installed, officers noticed strange patterns in his speech, constricted pupils, and bloodshot eyes. Jake was arrested after refusing to take a blood-alcohol test, then paid a $50,000 bond for his release, yet was booked for one felony and a couple of misdemeanors in county jail.
Arrest in 2019
Unfortunately, Jake Harris isn’t a stranger to breaking the law. Back in 2019, he was arrested for DUI, though this case was quite different compared to his 2021’s arrest, due to the severity of the charges.
According to a thorough report by Oxygen.com, Jake was first stopped by a park ranger in July of that year for not paying the park’s fees for stationing his motor home, entering the place before time, and failing to put his dog on a leash. When inquired about the infractions by the officer, Jake had reportedly refused to identify himself several times, before driving away when the ranger attempted to arrest him for obstruction.
After a minutes-long pursuit, officers found that Jake failed to install an interlocking device necessary due to his previous substance abuse history, on top of behaving erratically and showing physical and verbal signs of being under the influence of substances. An ounce of heroin, drug paraphernalia and packaging hinting at drug distribution were found in his motor home. A missing shotgun involved in a 2018 robbery in the area was also found in his belongings, though it was later proved that Jake wasn’t involved in that crime.
Jake pleaded guilty to possession of heroin ‘with intent to distribute’, and DUI in August of that year, and was put in jail for 18 months.
Previous Legal Problems
The first time we know about Jake Harris’ issues with the law was in 2010, when he was arrested for a run-in episode with the law. The incident took place in February of that year in Seattle, when Jake was arrested for suspected DUI, and police noticed that his car had been involved in an accident which occurred earlier that day.
According to reports, Jake’s driving license was suspended at the time, he had Xanax with him, failed a sobriety test, and initially refused to take a toxicology test. Nonetheless, that time Jake avoided jail after the drug test turned out negative, and his personal involvement with the accident couldn’t be proven.
Jake’s repeated problems with the law resulted in him being left out of “Deadliest Catch” 16th season: ‘My brother’s been going through issues. He’s lost in drugs still. Jake’s gotta take care of his own stuff right now. Deal with his demons’, as Josh Harris told HuffPost in 2013.
Later in 2017, Jake had another run-in with the law when he was arrested for drug possession and theft. As TMZ reported, he was staying at a hotel with a woman in Arizona, but took her car without permission. Jake was arrested for theft, and a police search found Xanax and Crystal Meth in his belongings.
Robbery Incident
The time when Jake was beaten and robbed is a scary reminder of all the bad things he went through in the decade. As it happened, Jake was given a ride home in November 2016 after spending the afternoon hanging out at a famous Washington State casino.
Jake’s personal belongings were stolen by the people in the car, a fight ensuing which resulted in him being dropped in a side road in a severely beaten state. While Jake initially refused to go to the hospital or even file a police report, his condition was so severe that he had no option but to be taken to the emergency room.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHkEEi1LzHr/
As Josh Harris informed through a Facebook video at the time, Jake was in intensive care after the incident, and was in a pretty bad condition: ‘Some individuals beat him to the point where it cracked his skull from his forehead all the way back to where you would be balding as an individual’, he said, affirming Jake was ‘bleeding out his brain’.
Though not a lot of information about Jake’s recovery process was shared by his family, a couple involved in the incident were caught and put in jail for robbery and assault.
Addiction Problems
Before his first encounter with the law in 2010, Jake Harris had been addicted to illicit substances for a long time. According to an interview he gave in “Dr. Drew”s show in 2012, when he confessed his addiction to opiates started in his high school days: ‘I was a skater and it turned out I wasn’t very good, so I broke some limbs’, Jake said, admitting that the prolonged use of sedatives for his orthopedic injuries resulted in addiction.
Jake’s addiction problems were also a recurring issue during his time in “Deadliest Catch”. Back in the ninth season, Jake’s late father Phil discovered he’d been taking his painkillers without permission, resulting in Jake finally admitting in front of cameras to being an addict.
Following the death of Captain Phil in 2010, Cornelia Marie was left in charge of Captain Derrick Ray for an entire season. He called Jake out for his behavior, and had no positive response, leaving Ray no option but to call authorities: ‘Having drugs on the boat is against the law. I have a captain’s license. I could lose my captain’s license’, he defended himself in an interview with The Oregonian. While the issue didn’t result in Jake’s arrest, it was clear that his drug abuse was causing quite a ruckus on board.
Phil Harris Death
Sadly enough, tragedies aren’t an unknown concept for the Harris family. Once Captain of the Cornelia Marie vessel and a respected fisherman by his fellow captains and his crew, Phil was a fan favorite from when he debuted in the show during the second season.
According to “Deadliest Catch” spin-off “Bloodline”, Captain Phil was an interesting person even when cameras weren’t around. An avid motorhead who enjoyed trips and bird-feeder crafting, Phil was known for his personality and love for adventure. Nonetheless, his life was also marked by his abuse of drugs and cigarettes, on top of his difficult relationship with Mary, his ex-wife and the mother of Josh and Jake.
Though the 2000s saw Phil speeding down his once rampant lifestyle, in January 2010 he suffered a stroke while on Captain duties and was immediately transported to Anchorage for medical treatment. He was put into an induced coma from which he awakened a couple of days later, showing miraculous signs of recovery, but which unfortunately didn’t last long. On 9 February 2010, Phil died from an intracranial hemorrhage.
The passing of Phil Harris caused big changes to the management of the Cornelia Marie, and saddened fans and his crew no end, the most affected being his sons.
While Jake Harris has been through many difficult moments since his father’s death, those sad chapters of his life have hopefully been left in the past.
