Body present in water near the place triathlete disappeared after suspected shark assault | EUROtoday

A physique was discovered within the water on Saturday on the north facet of Monterey Bay, California, in the identical space the place a swimmer disappeared nearly per week in the past in a suspected shark assault, in response to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

The physique was pulled from the ocean simply south of Davenport Beach round 2pm on Saturday, in response to KRON.

“Due to the close proximity to the recent shark attack victim in Monterey County, our agency is working closely with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office and the Pacific Grove Police Department regarding the recovery,” the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. “The investigation remains ongoing.”

California State Parks confirmed that the physique recovered from the water was a girl, however didn’t affirm if she matched the outline of a girl who disappeared within the space almost per week earlier than.

On Sunday, Erica Fox, a 55-year-old triathlete, was reported lacking. She was final seen at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove close to the bay’s south facet. There is roughly 30 miles between Lovers Point and Davenport, the place the physique was recovered on Saturday.

Fox, in a 2022 interview with The Independent mentioned she felt snug within the water, but additionally understood its risks.

Fox mentioned on the time that shark encounters reported in Pacific Grove hadn’t stopped her or her fellow swimmers from spending time within the water. She mentioned she’d by no means encountered a shark herself, however understood and revered that the ocean was international territory for people.

“As soon as you dive in the water, you’re immediately in a foreign land. We are the ocean ecology’s humbled guests,” she advised The Independent.

She added that felt “more vulnerable riding my bike than being in the water.”

Two Monterey seashores have been closed on Sunday “as a precautionary measure due to unconfirmed shark incident at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove,” in response to a City of Monterey social media put up.

A pair of witnesses reportedly advised authorities that they consider that Fox might have encountered a shark on the day she disappeared, in response to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

It has not been confirmed that Fox was concerned in a shark assault, nor has it been confirmed that the physique discovered within the water is linked to a shark assault.

Chris Lowe, the director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, advised the Santa Cruz Sentinel that the shoreline close to Lovers Point attracts sea lions and seals, that are main prey animals for white sharks.

Sharks migrate from the deeper ocean to the coast in October to feed, and usually stay within the space till January.

“They will hunt and they will patrol off these areas where these animals congregate,” Lowe advised the outlet.

Despite their presence, shark bites are nonetheless extraordinarily uncommon occasions.

Since 1950, there have been 16 individuals killed by sharks in California, in response to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. All of the instances have been confirmed to be white sharks apart from one incident during which the species of the animal was not confirmed.

In the Monterey space, there have been 13 shark chunk incidents since 1950. Most of the victims have been divers or surfers. Only two swimmers have been attacked by sharks since 1950.

Rescue employees launched an 84 sq. nautical mile search of the realm the place Fox disappeared, however that search was suspended after 15 hours, in response to a joint assertion from the Monterey Fire Department, Pacific Grove Police Department, Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Coast Guard.