Two 'Storage Wars' Cast Members Met Tragic Ends: Gunter Nezhoda and Mark Balelo

Storage Wars has been a ratings juggernaut for A&E since it first debuted on the network. The series, which has had several spin-offs throughout the years, has not only kept fans entertained with a series of high-yield surprise finds, but also a cast of characters who purportedly earn a living by scoping out potential gold mines.

Sadly, some of these personalities are no longer with us; there have been some deaths associated with the series.

One of the more recent tragedies involving a cast member of the show was Gunter Nezhoda, who died in March 2023. His passing was confirmed by his daughter and fellow Storage Wars personality Rene Nezhoda, who shared that the Austrian native was diagnosed with lung cancer six months before succumbing to his illness.

She said, "My dad, six months ago, was diagnosed with lung cancer. He's been smoking for 30 years. And last night he passed away in his sleep peacefully from complications from lung cancer."

Before joining the Storage Wars crew, Gunter wasn't a stranger to the entertainment business.

He had roles in independent films and played bass guitar, even working with George Lynch of Dokken and Pat Travers. Rene said that those who knew her father never had anything but nice things to say about the man. "My dad was one of the guys on Storage Wars that never really got any hate. People just loved being around him, including the crew ... Everybody loved working with my dad."

Audiences will remember Balelo for his shiny suits that looked like the mid-2000s Las Vegas Strip and The Original Kings of Comedy wardrobe department had a baby. He first appeared on the series in 2011, and from his debut, viewers anticipated that he would be regularly featured on it.

But fans didn't get to see too much of Rico Suave (as show mainstay Brandi Passante called him) as he was only on six episodes of the show from 2011–2013. While the full story as to why he wasn't heavily featured on Storage Wars isn't known, Radar did publish a 2012 article detailing that Balelo had a 2009 drug charge.

And the container buyer ended up serving a 45-day jail sentence after traveling out of state with a gun in his possession, which violated the terms of his probation associated with that charge. Balelo's girlfriend at the time, Elizabeth Metzidis, defended Balelo's character.

"I have a son who has autism and he's been very active raising money for that cause. At auctions, he'll donate a [storage] lot for the cause."

Then, in February 2013, Balelo was arrested on a methamphetamine charge. After being released from custody, he was found dead inside his car in what the Los Angeles Times called an "apparent suicide."

Other folks on the show have had significant health scares. Dan Dotson survived a double aneurysm in June 2014. Thankfully, he made a full recovery and returned to his auctioneering duties on the show.

Barry Weiss survived a terrifying motorcycle accident in June 2019 and underwent physical therapy in order to recover from the ordeal.

Like Dan, Barry made his return to the series following his health scare. Dave Hester opened up to TMZ about a hemorrhagic stroke that woke him up in 2019. Thankfully, his girlfriend was present at the time to assist him in getting the medical care necessary to recover.

The incident rendered walking and performing other daily tasks difficult, so Hester, like Weiss, had to undergo physical therapy to get healthy again.