Joel Taylor: Shocked, Mourning ‘Storm Chasers’ Fans Ask About Cause Of Death As #RipJoel Floods Social Media

Update: Joel Taylor cause of death update provided at the end of the article.

Fans of Joel Taylor continue to ask about his cause of death on social media. Although Taylor’s cause of death has not yet been confirmed, speculation has been circulating on Twitter since fans of Storm Chasers learned of his passing on Tuesday. The hashtag #RipJoel has also flooded Twitter as fans offer their condolences to Joel’s family, friends, and co-workers.

Joel Taylor, from the long-running Discovery Channel reality TV series Storm Chasers, reportedly died suddenly on Tuesday, shocking fans of the popular “Team Dominator,” consisting of Reed Timmer and Joel Taylor. Timmer and Taylor didn’t join in the chase on the small screen until 2008, the year following the premiere of Storm Chasers in October of 2007.

Loyal viewers of Storm Chasers, that ran for five seasons from 2007 through 2011, were shocked to hear that the show was canceled by the Discovery Channel in early 2012. Fans and viewers were later shocked to learn of the passing of Tim Samaras in 2013. Samaras joined Storm Chasers in 2009 with team TWISTEX and later died in 2013 during a storm chase in El Reno, Oklahoma, part of the infamous Tornado Alley area of the U.S.

Not quite five years later and fans are shocked again to learn of the sudden passing of 38-year-old Joel Taylor, who describes himself as a “country-boy” storm chaser on his Twitter account. The Inquisitr previously shared the news of Joel’s mysterious death on Tuesday, which was reportedly confirmed by his “best friend and storm chasing partner” Reed Timmer, 37, via his own Twitter account.

https://www.facebook.com/today/posts/10156076828541350

Taylor often drove the armored “Dominator” vehicle on Storm Chasers as Timmer sat in the passenger’s seat, with photographer Chris Chittick in the back seat, armed with a video camera. The Clouds Over Europe Facebook page shared a tribute video of Team Dominator from Storm Chasers just hours ago, as fans worldwide continue to mourn Joel Taylor across social media.

https://www.facebook.com/Chris.Chittick/posts/10155254178307014

Using hashtag #RipJoel, fans say they are “deeply saddened” to hear about Joel Taylor’s passing and that they loved Joel and Reed on Storm Chasers. Out of natural curiosity and an attempt to understand and process Joel’s passing, fans are also asking how he passed. Unfortunately, the hashtag used to mourn Joel Taylor has also been accompanied by “disrespectful” speculation on Twitter about how he passed, leading fans to ask for follow-up information from the original poster.

Via meteorologist and storm chaser Dan Skoff’s Twitter account, the same Twitter user, @DonnerKaren, again makes a vague and rumored reference to how Joel Taylor passed after Skoff asked if anyone knew the cause of death, only saying that he “made a very bad choice that came back to bite him.”

https://www.facebook.com/AccuWeather/posts/10156013023747889

Heavy reported on Wednesday that Joel Taylor’s cause of death still “remains a mystery,” and Heavy also cited the Team Western OK Chaser Facebook page that updated an original post from Tuesday night to let fans know that “it will most likely be quite a while” before Joel’s cause of death is determined by “medical professionals.”

The update from Team Western OK Chaser — that has since been removed — reportedly wants to quell the spread of any rumors and “false information” surrounding Joel’s sad and shocking death. The @WesternOKChaser3 post update also added that Joel Taylor’s family will first be informed of his cause of death before the news is released publicly.

While some fans of Storm Chasers, Team Dominator, and Joel Taylor continue to naturally “want to know what happened,” other fans say that how Joel Taylor passed “truly” doesn’t matter. Overall, fans offer condolences, support, and prayers to Joel’s family and friends, and honor the request to “respect his family” as they await his cause of death.

Update: Joel Taylor’s cause of death is now being reported as a “suspected overdose” while on a Royal Caribbean cruise, according to TMZ who reportedly cited “law enforcement sources” and passengers on board.