Malcolm-Jamal Warner tragically passed away on July 20, 2025 at the age of 54 while swimming in Costa Rica. Multiple reports say that Warner was swept away by a powerful current while swimming at Playa Grande beach in Cahuita, Limón.
However, another report confirmed that he was not alone at the time of his death.
A spokesperson for the Red Cross there told Us Weekly that “emergency personnel attended to two adult male patients.”
“A 35-year-old man who hasn’t been identified was transported in critical condition to the local clinic and his current condition is unknown, while CPR was performed on a 54-year-old male — Warner — who was declared dead at the scene,” the outlet wrote. “The spokesperson confirmed that both Warner and the second individual were ‘involved in the same incident.’”
The Man Who Tried To Save Malcolm-Jamal Warner Has Made a Full Recovery
Photo by EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP via Getty ImagesView of the building of Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ)’s Judicial Morgue in Heredia, Costa Rica, where the the body of 54-year-old US actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner remains two days after drowning on a beach in Limon, on July 22, 2025. US actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who was 54 and had played the son in the smash-hit sitcom “The Cosby Show,” drowned in Costa Rica on July 20, 2025, authorities informed on July 21. Warner played the loveable Theo Huxtable for all eight seasons of the show, helmed by disgraced comic actor Bill Cosby.
The man who was with Warner at the time was trying to rescue him, a Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) spokesperson told PEOPLE. He was identified as a 29-year-old man from Nicaragua, according to Dr. Mauricio Solano Corella, Medical Director for the Talamanca Health Area.
He was in the water at the time of the incident, and was taken to the hospital after first responders arrived at the scene. He received treatment from the Costa Rican Red Cross and made a full recovery, PEOPLE reports.
He was “treated, found to be stable and was discharged without complications,” Dr. Corella told the outlet.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Daughter Was Rescued
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
ABC News reports that Warner’s daughter was with him at the time of his tragic passing and was rescued on the beach by bystanders.
Others on the beach reportedly saw Warner and his daughter “struggling and dove in to help.”
The outlet added that “a surfer used his board to bring Warner’s daughter to safety, and a volunteer lifeguard pulled Warner and another surfer to shore, where Warner was given 45 minutes of CPR, according to police.”
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