Authorities in Texas have recovered the body of a former MMA fighter and musician form a lake – just hours after his two children were rescued.
The children and the body were found at Eagle Mountain Lake – a suburb of Fort Worth on Sunday.
The body was identified as 50-year-old Jimmy Chaikong. Neither of the children were identified by name, but a friend of his told CBS News that both are under the age of 12 and that ‘Everything that he did revolved around them.’
‘He was fiercely determined, always consistent, always positive,’ the friend told the outlet.
‘I’m so completely honored that he was my friend and that I got to be his and that I got to have him for a tiny, littler flicker in our lives.’
The Tarrant Regional Water District received a report around 5:00pm local time on Saturday, August 23 to two children screaming for help in the water.
Former MMA fighter Jimmy Chaikong, 50, was found Sunday at the bottom of a lake in Texas
Chaikong’s two young kids were rescued from the water the day before his body was found
Someone on a nearby boat was able to help save the children and then call for assistance.
After first responders arrived, they learned the kids were on a small watercraft with their father.
An exhaustive search resulted in the discovery of an abandoned sailboat. Chaikong’s body was found the next day.
After stepping out of the octagon, he focused on his family and his music – going on to become the managing director of the Texas State Songwriters Championship.
According to his Facebook page, he also became the founder of his own eponymous entertainment company.
‘He appreciated the genuine friends,’ Cynthia Anderson, a co-owner of the association, told WFAA. ‘He appreciated the simple things. Like, you know, being able to make his kids laugh every day. That was his biggest accomplishment.’
A friend from the music industry going by the name Uncle Rayno also echoed how important his children were to him, calling Chaikong a ‘fighter’ and a ‘dreamer’.
‘Those are babies and there’s nothing they could have done,’ Uncle Ryano told WFAA of Chaikong’s kids. ‘Their dad was their hero.’
