Malcolm-Jamal Warner spent his last moments doing everything in his power to save his daughter.
As we covered, the father-daughter duo were swimming in the ocean during a family vacation in Costa Rica on Sunday when they were swept up in a strong current, and the 54-year-old drowned. So heartbreaking. His 8-year-old daughter survived, in part thanks to two people who saw them struggling, and, of course, the brave father who put all his energy into keeping her safe.
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The head of the Tourist Police for Costa Rica’s Atlantic region, Elberth León, opened up about the tragic incident to Us Weekly on Thursday, saying:
“Both were dragged by the current. They were bathing together and were caught by a rip current.”
León said the beach where the family members were swimming is normally under a red flag warning due to frequent rip currents. And this day was particularly bad:
“We believe it was one of the days with the highest waves and the strongest currents. He was at the shore rinsing off sand with the girl. They took a quick dip and that’s when it happened.”
Jeez.
The Cosby Show alum heroically gave it his all trying to rescue his daughter, whose name he never shared publicly. The official shared:
“Obviously, as a father, he fought for his daughter, but the current in that area is very strong, and they couldn’t accomplish the objective.”
Whoa. What an incredible father. It’s so heartbreaking he couldn’t be saved as well…
Describing the scene further, Elberth said that authorities got a call about an incident through 911 and when tourist police arrived, Red Cross was already at the beach. León said:
“They indicated that Mr. Malcolm was in the water enjoying himself with his daughter. At that moment, they were dragged by a rip current. Two people who were there at the location went in with a surfboard and a boogie board to help rescue the people who were caught in the current.”
One of those individuals was able to get the child back to land safely — but it meant that the other rescuer put himself in danger:
“They managed to stay with the girl, managed to get her onto the board, but due to the strength of the current, one of them, from Nicaragua, had to let go of the board and push it toward the shore so the girl could make it to land or the coast. The person who pushed the board was also dragged by the current, so it forced the person with the board to go back into the sea to pull him out. They managed to get him out in critical condition. He was very exhausted.”
The official confirmed that the man has since been discharged.
The actor was later pulled out of the water by Red Cross lifeguards and a rescuer from the Caribbean Guards. He did not have vital signs at that time. CPR was performed on Malcolm once on land, but it was unsuccessful. So, so sad.
Our hearts go out to this family.
[Image via Adriana M. Barraza/WENN & Malcolm-Jamal Warner/Instagram]
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