Treasure hunter finds astonishing footage of man's final moments before he slipped underwater and drowned

A treasure hunter put a pair of grieving parents' minds at ease after making an unexpected discovery.

In 2017, 22-year-old Richard Ragland drowned in a waterfall - just days before his 23rd birthday.

He'd been with friends at Foster Falls State Park in Tennessee, US, when the fateful incident occurred.

Richard Ragland died at the age of 22 in 2017. (WSB-TV)

Richard's mother, Robin McCrear, was left with questions surrounding her son's untimely death and ultimately didn't get the answers she was looking for for some time.

In the months that followed Richard's death, his mom was sent a thumb drive by park rangers with footage of him, but Robin was devastated to learn that upon opening the package it seemed to have been stolen in transit.

"We miss him dearly with all of our hearts," Robin told WSB-TV at the time.

"He was an amazing young man. Full of love, full of energy."

Miraculously, two years after Richard's death, YouTuber and treasure hunter Rich Aloha (real name Rich Abernathy) found his GoPro.

Rich had been searching the waterfall where Richard died and came across the camera.

He then asked park rangers about it and they explained about Richard's death in 2017.

As well as the camera itself, Richard's SD card was still inside with footage leading up to his final moments.

"I strongly believe that God led me to this GoPro because the only thing I saw was the end tip of the thumbscrew and everything else was just covered in muck," the YouTuber told WSB-TV in 2019.

Rich Aloha pictured with Richard Ragland's mom and stepdad. (WSB-TV)

When he watched the footage and realized it was Richard, he took it upon himself to try reach out to Richard's parents.

Rich spent hours online until finally coming across Robin's phone number and called her to say he wanted to return the camera and card to her.

As to what the footage contained, the bereaved mother said it was of 'Rich being Rich, living life to the fullest'.

She went on to say that that the efforts Rich went to to contact them 'means the world to us'.

Elsewhere, Rich added to The New York Times: "It means so much that I could bring something totally invaluable and priceless to them."

To date, Rich's 2019 video of the moment he discovered Richard's GoPro has amassed 71,000 views on YouTube.

In the comments section of the clip, Rich was widely praised for getting in touch with Richard's parents to give them the footage.

Topics: News, US News, YouTube

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

@niamhshackleton