Malcolm-Jamal Warner Drowned in Area Known for Rip Currents
Warner, who shot to fame as a teenager when he played Theo Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show' from 1984 to 1992, was swimming at a beach on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, south of Limón, when he was 'apparently swept away by a current' around 2 p.m. on Sunday, the nation's Judicial Investigation Department said in a statement.
Three ambulances, a jet ski and nine rescuers were dispatched to the area, Playa Grande, a popular tourist destination, a spokesman for the Costa Rican Red Cross said in a statement. Warner, 54, was pulled from the sea and given CPR for more than 20 minutes, but attempts to resuscitate him failed, officials said. A second man, 35, was rescued and taken to a local clinic in critical condition, the Red Cross said. He was not identified, and no other details were given.
The area, whose waves make it a favorite among surfers, is known for dangerously strong rip currents.
Mike Geist, the vice president of Caribbean Guard, a group of about 35 volunteer lifeguards who patrol three beaches in the area, said a lack of resources had left the beach where Warner died unguarded on Sunday. The group had temporarily moved its team to another beach that draws more people and had recently been the site of several rescues and a fatality.
'We had to make this judgment call, and it turned out to be bad,' Geist said, lamenting that his organization did not have the funds to staff the beach every day. 'It sickens my stomach that we weren't there, because I can't tell you how many days I personally spent there on that post, in that guard stand, and because of stupid money, you know, and we just did not have enough people to do it.'
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