On July 20, actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner drowned at the Playa Grande beach in Costa Rica during a family getaway. He was 54. "The victim appears to have entered the sea and was apparently swept away by a current," the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) of Costa Rica told Us in a statement on July 21. "The man was rescued by bystanders and taken to shore, where he received treatment from the Costa Rican Red Cross. However, he was declared lifeless at the scene." Two days after his passing, the OIJ said his death had been ruled accidental and was caused by asphyxia due to submersion. Warner - best known for playing the charming and relatable Theo Huxtable on the hit series The Cosby Show for eight seasons between 1984 and 1992 - leaves behind a wife, whom he wed in 2017, and an 8-year-old daughter (the private star has never publicly revealed their names). In addition to acting, he was an accomplished poet and jazz musician who often played live shows near his home in Atlanta and won a Grammy in 2015 for a spoken word performance. After The Cosby Show, he went on to star in Malcolm & Eddie and later The Resident from 2018 until 2023. Last June, he launched the Not All Hood podcast with cohost Candace Kelley. Hollywood has been rocked by the loss. In a statement to Us, Warner's onscreen dad Bill Cosby said learning about his costar's death reminded him of when he got the call about his son Ennis' murder in 1997. (The character of Theo Huxtable had been based on Ennis, Cosby's only son.) "It's just devastating," he said. Angela Bassett, who costarred with Warner on 9-1-1, told Us in a statement, "Malcolm is what's known as a soulful artist whose deep commitment to his craft left an impression on me that has never faded." On social media, tributes poured in. Tracee Ellis Ross, who played Warner's wife in the series Read Between the Lines, wrote, "What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant." While talking to Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of Happy Gilmore 2, Adam Sandler, who appeared on The Cosby Show, remembered Warner as a "great person," adding, "We would take walks together, all of us, and pick up food, talk, play basketball, hang out on the weekends, and go to parties together. He was so good to me." Beyoncé dedicated the homepage of her website to Warner with a photo of the star and a message that read, "Thanks for being a part of our shared television history. You will be missed." Everything We Know About Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Death So Far According to Elberth León, Head of the Tourist Police for Costa Rica's Atlantic region, Warner and his daughter had been rinsing off sand at the shore on Playa Grande when they took a quick dip and got dragged by a strong rip current. (He believes they'd taken a surf lesson earlier.) "They were bathing together and were caught by a rip current," León told Us on July 24. "Obviously, as a father, [Malcolm] fought for his daughter, but the current in that area is very strong, and they couldn't accomplish the objective." In a statement from the OIJ obtained by Us on July 27, the agency contested part of León'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." Us Weekly León, however, is standing by his statement. "I responded to the incident and I know what I saw," he later told Us, addressing the OIJ's conclusion. "I don't know why the OIJ is saying that, since they weren't present at the scene. They interviewed Malcom's family [who he was vacationing with], but they also weren't there at the time of the accident." According to León, two bystanders - a Nicaraguan man and his friend - rushed into the water with a surfboard and managed to get Warner's daughter on the board and pushed her safely to shore. (During the daring rescue, the Nicaraguan - who was fully clothed and ready to depart the beach after a surf lesson when he spotted Warner and his daughter in distress - got dragged into the current and was pulled out by his companion. He was taken to a local hospital and later released in stable condition.) Stars React to Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Death at 54 By that point, Warner had been pulled farther out into the ocean. A certified rescuer and medical doctor who was spending the day at the beach tells Us that he heard a group of people calling for help and ran to the area. (He notes that there were "very few people on the beach, and the sea was rough.") He entered the water with his surfboard, heading into the rip current toward the person being pointed at by bystanders. "After a few minutes, I saw a shadow, dove down and pulled the person out," he says, noting that by that time, Warner was fully submerged. While waiting fo