WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 5, 2015 — (UPI) — Popular teenage YouTube star Caleb Logan Bratayley has died of natural causes, the family confirms. He was 13 years old.
According to Bratayley’s immediate family, the athletic big brother to sisters Annie, 10, and Hayley, 7, died suddenly the evening of Oct. 1. His family announced Bratayley’s passing the following day on Instagram and posted Caleb’s final video — taped a day before his death — over the weekend on YouTube.
“Yesterday at 7:08 p.m. Caleb Logan Bratayley passed away of natural causes,” the family’s Instagram post — published Oct. 2 — read. “This has come as a shock to all of us. Words cannot describe how much we will miss him. His incredibly funny, loving and wonderful spirit made us all fall in love with him as a YouTuber, friend, brother and son.”
The Bratayley’s representatives at Walt Disney-run digital media company, Maker Studios, also posted a message expressing their sadness over the boy’s death.
“We are heartbroken at the tragic loss of Caleb from Bratayley, a beloved member of the Maker family,” the company wrote. “Our love, support, thoughts, and prayers are with the Bratayley family.”
The family asked fans to be patient as they mourn Bratayley’s death, who was nick-named “baked potato.” Fans, however, are speculating on social media what “natural cause” could suddenly kill a seemingly healthy teen.
A final video recorded by the late Bratayley a day before he died was uploaded to the family’s YouTube channel Saturday. In it, he posed the question, “What question would you ask your future self?” to which he replied after a long pause, “Is Taco Bell still around?”
The Bratayley’s uploaded a second video montage of Caleb’s most memorable moments from his family’s daily vlog titled “Caleb, Gone But Never Forgotten.”
