Volunteer lifeguards who have been in contact with those present on the beach where Malcolm-Jamal Warner died are shining a light on the tragic sequence of events.
According to Mike Geist — a lifeguard instructor and vice president of Caribbean Guard, a group of 35 volunteer lifeguards — Warner and a group of unidentified individuals had a surf lesson early in the day.
“They had a good surf lesson,” Geist exclusively shared with Us Weekly on Tuesday, July 22. “After the surf lesson, I think they stayed on the beach for a while and then decided to get back in the water.”
According to Geist, there were three people in “distress” in the water, including a woman and a young girl. And good Samaritans – a boogie boarder and a doctor – jumped into the water to search for a fourth person.
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“The three of them were able to get out with some help,” Geist shared, adding that the doctor’s wife also “took care” of those involved in the incident. “Another person that was on the beach with a boogie board went out to go and look for Malcolm because they learned there was a fourth person.”
According to volunteer lifeguard Sofia Cordoba, the doctor, who was at the beach with his wife, “saw a group of people alarmed, so he took his board and got ready to approach the place where the people were,” said Cordoba. “He realizes that there are many people who are trying to help who are rather putting themselves at risk because no one had a floating element.”
Ultimately, the doctor on the scene found Warner submerged in the water.
Cordoba added that about five minutes into the doctor’s search “he saw a shadow” and pulled Warner, who was unconscious, to the surface.
“He pulled him to the surface and did exactly what he was supposed to do,” Geist added. “[He] gave him five emergency breaths — which is always our best chance of bringing someone back — when he got him above the water and then was able to bring him into shore quickly where they started CPR.”
According to Geist, other individuals were on the beach and assisted in administering CPR between 2 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 20. Within 11 to 12 minutes, ambulances also arrived “quickly” and had an automated external defibrillator (AED) ready for use.
“They continued CPR for, I believe, 30 minutes or longer,” Geist said. “The resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.”
News broke on Monday, July 21, that Warner died at the age of 54 after an accidental drowning at Playa Grande, Cahuita, Limón.
According to Roger Sanz, the President of the Chamber of Tourism and Commerce of the Southern Caribbean, the beach where Warner died is “very large” and “well known among surfers.”
“It has strong currents and generates many waves, making it a highly active area,” Sanz explained in a statement to Us.
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While Caribbean Guard normally patrols Playa Grande every Sunday, Geist and Caribbean Guard decided to move their lifeguard group to another beach that had “several incidents” in recent weeks.
“It’s another reason that we need help,” he added to Us. “Anything we can do to try and generate help for our organization will allow us to cover that beach. … It’s been difficult for our group to accept that, you know, we should have been there quite frankly and this would have never happened.
The Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Agency confirmed that Warner’s autopsy was completed on Tuesday. The cause of death was determined to be “asphyxia due to submersion.” (Asphyxia occurs when an individual doesn’t get enough oxygen in their body.)
Warner’s death was ruled accidental by officials.
The Cosby Show alum had been in Costa Rica since July 13. He is survived by his wife and daughter, whose identities were never publicly revealed.
