NEED TO KNOW
Reality star and DJ Maycon Douglas, a.k.a. Juicy Rasta, was found dead a week after he went missing on New Year’s Eve.
A body discovered on Praia do Sul beach in Nazaré, Portugal, on Jan. 7 was identified as Douglas, per CNN Portugal. The 25-year-old reality star, who starred in season 8 of the Portuguese reality show Secret Story – Casa dos Segredos, had been missing since Dec. 31, according to Portugal’s National Maritime Authority.
On New Year’s Eve, Douglas had left a Nazaré bar, where he worked as a DJ, and headed home, CNN reported, citing friends. He was not heard from again, according to the outlet.
On Jan. 7, Portuguese officials recovered Douglas’ body following an alert issued at 1:50 p.m. local time, according to maritime officials. It was found close to where his car had been discovered nearly a week earlier, per CNN.
The DJ’s car had been found, submerged nearly 20 feet underwater, near the Nazaré lighthouse at São Miguel Arcanjo, according to the outlet.
Maycon Douglas/Instagram
As the search for Douglas first kicked off on Jan. 1, authorities found the wrecked vehicle by the lighthouse, and divers determined that there was nobody inside or surrounding the scene, according to the National Maritime Authority.
The Secret Story alum’s jacket was found inside the vehicle, however, according to CNN.
Portuguese police are currently investigating the circumstances of Douglas’ death, and his cause of death has not yet been announced.
The National Maritime Authority did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Saturday, Jan. 10.
A funeral service for Douglas will be held in Leiria, Portugal, on Sunday, Jan. 11, according to a notice shared by Raquel Coelho — who was identified by Secret Story network TVI as Douglas’ girlfriend — as well as several of his former castmates. (The National Maritime Authority previously stated that Douglas’ body would be transported to Leiria following a police investigation.)
The dress code for the service is white, not black, “as a way to honor light and peace during this time of farewell,” according to the notice, originally written in Portuguese.
In his final Instagram post before his death, Douglas — who had 50,000 followers on Instagram and 22,000 followers on TikTok — reflected on his “intense” 2025, and looked forward, writing, “2026 is vision, discipline and consistency.”
In the post shared on Dec. 30 and originally written in Portuguese, he also wrote that he “learned a lot, lived even more.” He added, “One of the most meaningful dates for me is New Year’s… why ? I don’t know. Maybe that feeling of starting over, even though you know that deep down, it’s all the same 😂.”
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Following news of his death, Coelho shared an emotional tribute to the late reality star on Instagram.
Alongside a compilation of black-and-white clips of Douglas, she wrote in Portuguese, “Saudade (a feeling of longing/missing someone). There is no stronger feeling in my experience.”
“An emptiness that doesn’t fit in my chest, and no matter what I do, or who I’m with, it never leaves me. There are moments when it’s my companion, others when I can’t breathe. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to deal with it,” she continued.
Cuelho went on to say that she “would give anything to have you back, anything. To go back in time and have stopped you in time. To feel your embrace, to laugh out loud together like only we knew how. How much I miss your smile. It doesn’t make sense without it.”
“You appeared in my life unexpectedly, and you don’t know how grateful I am that you did,” she wrote. “You made me believe again that it is possible to find good people, and that it is possible to love and have reciprocity in that love. Thank you for that and for everything else. You will be with me and in me forever, I carry you everywhere, unfortunately not in the way I idealized, but in the way life wanted. I love you ❤️🔥.”
