New Details Emerge on Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Final Hours: Sequence of Events

As fans and friends continue to mourn the tragic passing of beloved actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, new details have emerged about what exactly happened in the star’s final hours.

Warner died at age 54 in an accidental drowning caused by a rip tide on July 20, 2025. Officials have been piecing together the details ever since, and those at the scene have reported that Warner was enjoying a day of surfing and swimming when he died.

The overview below contains the latest details provided by officials and others on the scene in the four days since Warner’s tragic death.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner Arrived in Costa Rica on July 13, But His Wife Was Not There at the Time of His Death

At the time of his death, Warner had been in Costa Rica for a week, according to TMZ. The outlet published a video and a photo of the actor arriving at the airport on July 13. TMZ reported that Warner had flown to Costa Rica from Atlanta.

A source confirmed to People that Warner was on a family vacation with his wife and daughter, whom he has never identified publicly. However, TMZ reported on July 23 that Warner’s wife was not in Costa Rica at the time of his death.

A “source with direct knowledge” told TMZ that Warner and his daughter had been in the country for a “home-schooling program.” The source said his wife had been with them “a few weeks prior to his death,” but had left before July 20. TMZ was told she learned about the tragedy via a phone call.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner Took Surfing Lesson & Was Swimming With Daughter Before Accidental Drowning

The beach where Warner and others were swimming on July 20 was in Playa Cocles, located on the Caribbean coast, according to the Associated Press.

Mike Geist, vice president of Caribbean Guard, a group of 35 volunteer lifeguards in the area, told Us Weekly that Warner and “a group of unidentified individuals” were at the beach for a surf lesson earlier in the day.

“They had a good surf lesson,” Geist told the outlet. “After the surf lesson, I think they stayed on the beach for a while and then decided to get back in the water.”

The Costa Rica Red Cross said it responded to a “water-related” incident at the Playa Grande resort in Cahuita, Limón around 2:10 p.m., per People. Officials have since said that a strong rip tide swept Warner offshore.

Geist told Us Weekly that there were three people in “distress” in the water, including a woman and a young girl. Those three “were able to get out with some help,” Geist told the outlet, while a boogie boarder and a doctor who were on the beach dove into the water to search for Warner.

A second man who was pulled from the water, originally reported to be a 35-year-old in critical condition. He has since been treated and released, People reported on July 23. Dr. Mauricio Solano Corella, Medical Director for the Talamanca Health Area, told People that the man was a 29-year-old from Nicaragua who had also been trying to rescue Warner.

Playa Cocles was once named “the most dangerous beach in the Atlantic Coast,” per the Costa Rica Star, because of its strong rip currents and “irregular conditions of the beach.” Nevertheless, the area is a popular tourist destination and haven for surfers.

Official Says Warner Was Found ‘On the Floor of the Ocean’

ABC News reported that one of the surfers who dove in to help was able to rescue Warner’s daughter using a surfboard to pull her to safety.

Geist told the New York Times that the doctor who dove in to help, also an experienced surfer, was the one who found the actor. Geist noted that “Malcolm was on the floor of the ocean.”

“He pulled him to the surface and did exactly what he was supposed to do,” Geist told Us Weekly. “(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 the New York Times, three ambulances, a jet ski, and nine rescuers arrived at Playa Grande to assist. Geist told Us Weekly the emergency responders arrived within 11 or 12 minutes.

In a statement to the New York Times, a Costa Rican Red Cross spokesperson explained that after Warner was found and pulled from water, he was given CPR for more than 20 minutes, but said rescuers were not able to resuscitate him. Police, meanwhile, told ABC News that CPR efforts lasted for 45 minutes.

Warner’s body was transported to a local morgue for an autopsy. The Judicial Investigation Department in Costa Rica confirmed that Warner’s death was accidental, caused by “asphyxiation by submersion,” per the New York Times.

TMZ reported that Warner’s body would be flown to Los Angeles on July 24, scheduled to arrive on the morning of July 25. The outlet said the U.S. Embassy has been working with Warner’s family on returning his body to the U.S.

The post New Details Emerge on Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Final Hours: Sequence of Events appeared first on EntertainmentNow.