Reality TV star faces murder charge after jail cellmate dies, police say

An imprisoned Discovery Channel reality show star faces a murder charge after his cellmate was found dead at the Clark County Detention Center on Friday, police said.

Chad Ollinger, 41, was taken into custody after his cellmate was found dead at 11:20 p.m., according to a news release from the Metropolitan Police Department. The dead inmate’s name wasn’t released Saturday.

Ollinger appears on the television series “Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch,” which premiered in 2021 and follows him and his father, Duane Ollinger, as they search for gold and Aztec artifacts on their northeastern Utah property. The show’s fifth and latest season ended in August.

Corrections officers inside the downtown Las Vegas jail “were conducting routine checks when they observed a male inmate lying motionless inside of a cell,” the news release said. Officers went into the cell and saw that the inmate had apparent blunt force injuries.

The inmate was pronounced dead at the scene. Metro homicide detectives responded.

“Through the course of the investigation, detectives learned a physical altercation occurred between the victim and Ollinger inside of the cell,” police said in the news release.

Jail records show that Ollinger had been in custody since his Oct. 27 arrest on a charge of arrest of a fugitive from another state. He also faces a contempt of court charge, according to jail and court records.

Ollinger was set to make his initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court on Sunday but was not taken to court due to being disruptive, court records show. His initial appearance is now set for Tuesday, according to court records.

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com. Contact Mark Davis at mdavis@reviewjournal.com.