Diver finds GoPro containing video of man's final moments before drowning
Two years after their son’s death, Robin and Gary McCrear received a special gift from diver and YouTuber, Rich Aloha.
In 2017, at a waterfall in Tennessee, Richard Ragland drowned just a few days before his 23rd birthday.
According to a WSB-TV news bulletin from 2017, Ragland’s parents said their son went swimming at the waterfall, went under the water and never came back up.
His parents always had questions about how their son died, Ragland was apparently a good swimmer. They hoped videos on his GoPro would provide some answers.
After their son’s untimely death, the McCrears received a letter from park rangers and an envelop which was meant to contain the the thumb drive, with video taken of Ragland, by someone else.
However, the parents were devastated to find there was no flash drive when they opened the letter.
Finally, the parents will hopefully get some kind of closure after a YouTuber and diver found Ragland’s GoPro at the same place Ragland drowned two years earlier.
Speaking to WSB-TV, Aloha said he was told by park rangers of Ragland’s death so when he came across the GoPro, he thought it could be his.
“I strongly believe that God led me to this GoPro because the only thing I saw was the end tip of the thumb screw and everything else was just covered in muck,” he told WSB-TV.
Aloha was surprised to find the SD card still worked and when he went through the footage, he realised it was Ragland.
After multiple Google searches, Aloha was able to find a phone number for the McCrears. He said he was glad he was the one to find the GoPro.
“I try to do the right thing and get the item back to the rightful owner,” he said.
The McCrears were grateful Aloha got in touch with them, after all the trouble he went through tracking them down.
According to WSB-TV, the McCrears have been watching the footage of their son’s final days.
“What we’ve seen so far is Rich being Rich, living life to the fullest,” said Robin.
The McCrears said one day they would try to watch the final moments of their son’s life, which is presumably on the recovered SD card and the final moments provide some answers.
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