Family, friends remember boy who drowned trying to save sister

CHARLOTTE — With prayers and music, family and friends said goodbye to 11-year-old Randez Brown on Saturday.

Randez drowned last Thursday after he jumped into a creek to save his little sister, Samiyah Brown. The siblings were playing with a group of friends along Davis Creek when the girl, 7, fell in.

"My peace I give unto you" were the words written outside of Chappell Memorial Baptist Church in North Charlotte as family and friends gathered to remember Randez.

At his funeral service Saturday, his friends wore sweat shirts and t-shirts with Randez's picture on them, and remembered his likable personality, adventurous spirit, and sense of humor.

"I feel bad because to me I'm never going to have a friend like him that will always make me laugh the way he did," said friend Michael Frost.

"Sometimes we'd see him ride the skateboard in front of us, and we'd yell at him but then we'd end up laughing," said friend Calvin Gatewood.

"He was a funny person, he always made you laugh," Gatewood continued. "He was just a cool person, you know? He used to come in my neighborhood, we used to play basketball."

At last check, Samiyah was still in critical condition at the hospital.

WSOC