Richard Ragland was 22 when he drowned at a lake in Tennessee in 2017.
A family is taking it as a sign from beyond after a diver found GoPro containing footage showing the the final, happy memories of a swimmer who had drowned two years earlier.
Richard Ragland was 22 when he drowned at a lake in Tennessee in 2017. Part of the day was captured on Ragland's GoPro camera, which was lost — until recently, when diver Rich Aloha found it buried in muck at the bottom of the lake.
Aloha tracked down Ragland's mother, Robin McCrear, to reunite her with the camera.
"It was unbelievable," McCrear told Inside Edition of the find. "...We didn't think we would ever see it again."
Ragland's family said getting the video back was bittersweet, but they taking it as a sign.
"Rich probably told God, 'Let's use Richard, Rich Aloha, to capture the GoPro just so my family would know I'm in there a little bit, I'm a part of us,'" said Richard's sister, Brittnee Buley.
"This whole thing has just allowed me to see that this is a lot bigger than us and Richard is touching the world now," she added.
While the family said they haven't watched the whole video yet, the clips they have seen so far immortalized their son's adventurous spirit.
"Even at the end, that Rich was just loving life and loving the people he was with and that's who he was at all times," said Richard's stepfather, Gary McCrear.
"It's like he's still spreading love and joy shining in heaven, just as he did here on Earth," added Robin. "We'll forever be proud of him."
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