How Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Daughter Was Saved by 2 Bystanders: Police

Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s 8-year-old daughter was saved by two bystanders after she and the actor were dragged by a rogue ocean current.

Warner had been vacationing with his wife and daughter, neither of whom he publicly identified, in Costa Rica earlier this month. The Cosby Show alum and his only child were swimming in the ocean when they were submerged by a wave.

“Two people who were there at the location went in with a surfboard and a boogie board to help rescue [Malcolm and his daughter] caught in the current,” Elberth León, the head of the Tourist Police for Costa Rica’s Atlantic, exclusively told Us Weekly. “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 had to let go of the board and push it toward the shore so the girl could make it to the coast.”

After the individual let go of the boogie board, the other person returned to help rescue him.

“The current was very strong; they couldn’t swim the two of them with the girl on the board,” León explained to Us. “And when the person let go of the board, he was dragged by the current, so bravely they decided to risk their lives so the girl could make it to the beach.”

Warner was also swept under the water after initially trying to help his daughter.

“Both were dragged by the current. They were [swimming] together and were caught by a rip current,” León said. “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.”

While the two good Samaritans and Warner’s daughter have all since recovered, Warner was pronounced dead on the scene. He was 54. Officials later ruled Warner’s cause of death was asphyxia due to submersion and that the circumstances were accidental.

Warner is best known for his roles on The Cosby Show, Malcolm & Eddie, The Resident and, most recently, a four-episode arc on ABC’s 9-1-1. Months earlier, Warner revealed how he hoped he’d be remembered when he eventually passed.

“I will be able to leave this earth knowing and people knowing that I was a good person,” he said on a May episode of the “Hot & Bothered” podcast. “[My dad] said to me often, ‘You know people love you, and people [are] always talking about your career and your success and all of that, but what really makes me the most proud is that you are a good person.’”