YouTube treasure hunter helps grieving parents two years after son's death

More than two years after their son died in a freak accident, two parents received the most unlikely of gifts from a YouTube treasure hunter.

Richard Ragland, 22, passed away in 2017 after he drowned at a Tennessee waterfall in the US.

In his final moments he was seen snapping pictures with friends, before he was pulled under the water and never resurfaced.

His parents, naturally, had many questions about his death: questions they hoped would be answered by viewing the last videos and photos taken on his camera.

Park rangers had initially sent his parents Robin and Gary McCrear a drive with video of Ragland that had been recorded by other people that day.

In a cruel twist of fate, the package had been open and someone had stolen the drive.

Yet two years later, YouTube treasure hunter and free diver Rich Aloha ended up unexpectedly coming to the McCrears rescue.

"He actually found Richard's GoPro camera," Robin McCrear told Channel 2.

"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."

Aloha was diving in waters not far from where Ragland drowned and saw the end tip of the GoPro sticking out of the mud, submerged beneath the water.

Park rangers had informed him about the tragedy so when he retrieved the SD card and saw that the camera was still working, he immediately thought it may have been the deceased's.

It led Aloha on a treasure hunt of a different kind, as he began searching for Ragland's parents online and eventually made contact.

His parents said the footage they've watched of their son so far is typical of him and shows Ragland "living life to the fullest".