What Actually Happened to Chris Scambler on 'Deadliest Catch'?

On the reality show Deadliest Catch, you never know when disaster will strike. For previous crew member Chris Scambler, who had spent more than a little time on the crab boat Wizard, his experience working on the high seas almost turned deadly himself.

If you've ever wondered what happened during Chris's dramatic exit briefly from the show, it all took place years ago in 2012, where the Wizard newcomer ended up in extremely bad shape after a grueling day on the high seas.

As it turns out, Chris almost succumbed to a dangerous case of dehydration while working under the watchful eye of Captain Keith Colburn at the time. He had been working as hard as he possibly could, when the situation turned for the worse.

After suffering for a short amount of time, the Wizard crew had to make a difficult call to get him off of the boat and to safety where he could recuperate from the shock he had taken to his body.

Who knew a show about sailing the Bering Sea to snap up Alaskan King Crab could potentially be so dangerous? It's in the name after all, but surely that's for hyperbole, right? Not for Chris, who ended up collapsing with shooting pains in his neck and arms while working on the Wizard on the show. It wasn't long, however, before these pains turned into terrifying convulsions that left the boat crew unsure of how to proceed to make sure Chris was safe. 

With no doctor on board and Scambler's health quickly going downhill, Chris began convulsing. Capt. Keith Colburn had to take charge of the situation, and fast. He had to make the difficult decision to call in a medevac to have Scambler airlifted off of the Wizard and taken by the Coast Guard to a nearby hospital in Anchorage, AK where he would be able to stabilize and rehydrate.

Dehydration is nothing to mess with, especially when you're also doing hard work.

As Chris was just about ready to be removed from the Wizard, he even told Capt. Keith he was "sorry," obviously feeling bad that he had been any kind of "inconvenience" for the rest of the team. But Keith wasn't having any of it — he just wanted Chris to get well. 

"Don't be sorry, man, you did a great job for me," he said to Chris at the time. "All right?"

In the end, Chris had been in need of recovery for both dehydration and shock. 

It just goes to show you that all of the things the Wizard crew does that you see on Deadliest Catch are just that: deadly. Chris was able to get away with his life, but he was very lucky to have been able to do so – plus, he had a great crew behind him.

After appearing in a few episodes of Season 8 of Deadliest Catch, which aired in 2012, Chris made a brief appearance in the 2018 movie Deadliest Catch: Coast Guard Heroes. Since then, he’s remained out of the spotlight. Chris doesn’t seem to have a social media presence, but we hope he’s living a fun and eventful life these days.