Man who inspired #icebucketchallenge friend dies



Friend: Pete Frates, who lives with ALS, has been strongly linked with the ALS ice bucket challenge making the rounds on social media



A friend of the man associated with the ALS ice bucket challenge died early Saturday morning after diving off a Massachusetts wharf.

The Nantucket Police Department said in a release that 27-year-old Corey Griffin was reported missing at 2am.

'[A witness] stated Griffin had jumped off the Juice Guys building [...] into the water where he floated to the surface,' the release said. 'Griffin then went under water again not resurfacing.'

The day before, Griffin 'had just raised $100,000 for ALS in honor of his friend, Pete Frates,' The Boston Globe said.

Friend of man whose illness began the world-famous ice bucket challenge dies after diving in Nantucket water to celebrate the viral campaign's success

• Corey Griffin was reported missing at 2am on Saturday
• Police said Griffin, 27, jumped off a Nantucket building on Straight Wharf
• Griffin was reportedly pulled out of the water by an off-duty lifeguard and hospitalized, but declared dead at 3am
• On Friday evening, Griffin reportedly raised $100,000 on behalf of his friend and ALS patient Pete Frates 
• Frates' story has been linked to the ALS ice bucket challenge, which has made the rounds on social media

Frates - an ex-baseball player who discovered he had ALS two years ago - has become the face of the ALS ice bucket challenge, The Globe noted. Thousands of people have uploaded videos of themselves talking about ALS before pouring buckets on themselves.

Robert Griffin told the newspaper his son Corey told him of his fundraising success and 'was the happiest guy in the word. He called me [Friday night] and told me he was in paradise.'

Griffin also said his son 'was so happy to be able to help [Frates.]'