Malcolm-Jamal Warner was swimming with his 8-year-old daughter when he drowned, police confirm

Warner’s death has been ruled accidental by Costa Rican authorities. He was pulled from the ocean after being caught in a rip current while swimming with his daughter.

New details have emerged in the tragic death of actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, revealing that he was swimming with his 8-year-old daughter off the coast of Costa Rica when he drowned on Sunday. According to Costa Rican authorities speaking to ABC News, both Warner and his daughter were caught in a powerful rip current near Cocles Beach in the Limón province.

Surfers nearby saw them struggling in the water and jumped in to help. One used his board to rescue Warner’s daughter, while a volunteer lifeguard pulled Warner and another surfer to shore. CPR was performed on Warner for 45 minutes, but he could not be revived.

The Forensic Pathology Department in Costa Rica has confirmed that Warner died from asphyxiation by submersion. His death has been ruled accidental. The two surfers involved in the rescue survived and recounted their experience to the police.

The revelation that Warner was with his young daughter has deepened the heartbreak surrounding his sudden passing. The 54-year-old actor, best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, kept his personal life closely guarded. He never revealed his daughter’s name or shared photos of her face publicly. But he often expressed, through posts and videos, just how much she meant to him.

“You have absolutely no idea. A love so profound that even a poet can’t find the words to describe it,” Warner once wrote. “Often I find myself just staring at her and wondering where she came from… I am proud that we have been able to provide a wonderful, loving, and spiritually enriching environment as a home base into which ALL babies should be born and thrive.”

Fans and fellow artists have continued to mourn the loss of a man who helped define a generation of Black television and who, by all accounts, cherished his role as a father most of all.