YouTuber Finds GoPro Footage Of Man's Final Moments 2 Years After His Death
19 August 2019
2 years ago, Richard Ragland tragically passed away after he drowned at a waterfall in Foster Falls State Park. Richard went for a swim beneath the waterfall, but never resurfaced again, leaving his heartbroken parents wondering what had happened in the moments leading up to his death.
But now, the footage from the GoPro that he used on that fateful day has finally been recovered... by YouTube vlogger and self-proclaimed "treasure hunter," Rich Aloha Abernathy.
Aloha, who is a licensed diver, recovered the GoPro when diving and hunting for treasure at Foster Falls and got in touch with Richard's family as soon as he watched the footage from the camera. And his parents, who haven't yet brought themselves to watch the full video, have gone public with the discovery, which may finally give them the closure that they need and deserve after all these years.
Keep scrolling to see the tragic video, which shows Richard enjoying and living his life to the fullest in the moments leading up to his death.
via: WSB TV
Aged only twenty-two, and just mere days before his twenty-third birthday, Richard Ragland was embarking upon a road trip across Tennessee with a group of his friends.via: Facebook
And subsequently stopped at the Foster Falls State Park because, according to his Mom, Richard "wanted to get some pictures of the waterfall."via: Facebook
While swimming at the falls, Richard went under the water and never emerged again.via: Facebook
Due to circumstances that still remain unknown, Richard, who was a National Guard soldier and a confident swimmer, became fully submerged in the water and was unable to resurface.via: Facebook
But, heartbreakingly, none of them were able to recover his body in time.via: Getty
But his camera went under the water with him and was subsequently left at the bottom of the lake, seemingly never to be recovered again.via: WSB TV
Speaking to WSB TV, his father, Gary, questioned what actually happened that prevented Richard from resurfacing, and revealed that the family had hoped to answer them by seeing videos he’d taken with his GoPro camera. "He was a good swimmer. So what happened? What got him to that point where he couldn't get himself out of the water?"via: Facebook
And the thumb drive, which contained footage of Ragland having fun with his friends, was posted to the family, but, unfortunately, the envelope was empty upon arrival at the family's home, prompting them to believe that someone stole the video.via: Facebook
YouTube vlogger, Rich Aloha Abernathy, miraculously recovered Richard's long-lost GoPro while diving at Foster Falls.via: Facebook
And he dedicates his YouTube channel to "treasure hunting" along lake beds and other untouched bodies of water.via: WSB TV
Though the exterior of the camera was visibly damaged, Rich discovered that the SD card was still inside the camera and was indeed working as normal.via: Facebook
He began to research how he could find Ragland’s parents and, after several Google searches and hours of online research, he found a phone number and called.via: Facebook
Rather than posting about his find on his YouTube channel - which is actually dedicated to his free dives - Rich took it upon himself to return the footage to Robin and Gary, instead. "I'm glad I found it, personally, because I try to do the right thing and get the item back to the rightful owner."via: Youtube
“For him to go through his efforts to do his research, make numerous phone calls, he didn’t give up until he got in touch with us and that means the world to us," Robin said about Aloha's efforts.via: Youtube
“What we’ve seen so far is Rich being Rich, living life to the fullest," Robin recalled of the footage, which captured his final few hours.via: Youtube
In the video, Richard is seen splashing around in the lake, and happily laughing with his friends, obviously unaware of what is about to happen.via: Youtube
He is heard saying to the camera, "this is what life is all about. Being here with brothers and sisters. We living life."via: Youtube
And he says, while laughing and shivering, "all 3 of us brothers, all jokes aside, we've made a decision to live a lifestyle that most people don't like. Look at this!" He then pans the camera around the lake, clearly in awe of how beautiful the location is.via: Facebook
His family haven't been able to bring themselves to watch the full video, but they have watched snippets, and say that they are simply grateful for the opportunity to see their son enjoying his final hours.