Police Chief Stands by Claim Malcolm-Jamal Warner Tried to Save His Daughter

For the past week there have been conflicting reports about whether or not actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner's 8-year-old daughter was with him in the water when he was caught in a rip current and drowned off the coast of Costa Rica [click here if you missed that].

The Chief of the Tourist Police of the Atlantic Region stands by his account that Malcolm's daughter WAS in the water and was also caught in the rip current...

From Us Weekly

A Costa Rican police chief is standing by his statement regarding the moments that led up to Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s death, insisting the late actor’s daughter was in the water at the time of his drowning and that the actor tried to save her.

“I responded to the incident and I know what I saw,” Elberth León, Chief of the Tourist Police of the Atlantic Region, exclusively told Us Weekly. “The Red Cross also treated the girl [on site] and she didn’t need to go to the clinic.”

According to information from the Regional Subdelegation of Bribri of the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), obtained by Us on Saturday, July 27, the agency is contesting the police chief’s statements.

“It appears that at one point, Mr. Warner was playing with his daughter at the shoreline,” the agency claimed in part. “He later left her out of the water and supposedly entered the sea along with a friend. It was at that moment that the current pulled them in; the friend managed to get out, but unfortunately, Mr. Warner did not.”

The OIJ’s account of the incident was first reported by several outlets on Thursday, July 24.

“I don’t know why the OIJ is saying that, since they weren’t present at the scene,” León told Us of the agency’s conclusion. “They interviewed Malcom’s family, but they also weren’t there at the time of the accident.”

The Costa Rica Red Cross confirmed to Us on July 21 that emergency personnel attended to two adult male patients near Cocles, a beach in Limon, Costa Rica, after they were caught by a high current in the water.

León told Us on Thursday that both Warner and his daughter were in the water when they were “dragged by the current.”

“They were bathing together and were caught by a rip current,” he 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.”

He continued, “Two people who were there at the location went in with a surfboard and a boogie board to help rescue the people who were caught in the current. 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, from Nicaragua, had to let go of the board and push it toward the shore so the girl could make it to land or the coast.”

Despite the OIJ’s conflicting report, León told Us he doesn’t see any issue with his version of the tragic events because “it’s the truth about what happened.”

“I feel the OIJ failed to interview the Police and the Red Cross, and those are crucial interviews that should be part of any investigation,” he continued. “But sometimes, for all kinds of reasons, they don’t do them.”