Triathlete’s Body Found After Shark Attack Off California Coast

The body of a triathlete has been recovered a week after she went missing in a shark attack while swimming with her husband in California, as per various reports.

Erica Fox’s remains were discovered on Saturday afternoon in a black wetsuit, located south of Davenport Beach in Santa Cruz—around 25 miles from the area she was last seen, said her grieving husband.

Jean-Francis Vanleuzel informed the Mercury News that as he and a group of local swimmers were around 100 meters behind her, a shark pulled his wife into the water.

Witnesses reported observing the shark with a human body in its mouth before it disappeared beneath the surface, according to ABC News.

“She didn’t want to live in fear,” Vanleuzel conveyed during a solemn procession along the beach, where she and other Kelp Crawlers Club members completed a tribute swim. “She lived her life to the fullest.”

Vanleuzel noted that Fox, 55, was wearing a “shark band” on her ankle designed to deter such creatures. Despite this tragic incident, it marks only the second shark attack reported at Lovers Point in 73 years, with the last fatality occurring in December 1952.

Interestingly, this attack also comes just a few years after another Kelp Crawlers’ member, Steve Bloomer, survived a leg bite from a shark that was only a partial injury thanks to nearby paddle boarders.

In light of the events, Sharen Carey, a long-time member of the Kelp Crawlers, expressed her concerns, wondering aloud if people would feel safe returning to the ocean: “I think we’re all still in shock, disbelief, sadness, and not knowing what we have to do next other than to love and support each other.”