Swimmer in Suspected Shark Assault Was a Triathlete, Swam at Identical Beach for 20 Years

The 55-year-old swimmer who went lacking throughout a presumed shark assault in Pacific Grove Sunday was recognized as Erica Fox, a triathlete who took half in Escape From Alcatraz for 20 years and swam at Lovers Point each Sunday for twenty years.

As the Chronicle reports, Pebble Beach resident Erica Fox swam each Sunday at Lovers Point in Monterey County’s Pacific Grove — the place she disappeared Sunday — for about 20 years with the weekly open water swim group she co-founded referred to as Kelp Krawlers. On Sunday, Fox reportedly took a wider route than the remainder of the group members, who swam west into Otter Cove, per Monterey County Now.

As SFist beforehand reported, members of the group heard a big splash and rushed to shore, however Fox by no means returned. Authorities stated two eye witness accounts indicated potential shark exercise within the space. Multiple businesses had been concerned within the search, which lined over 84 sq. nautical miles earlier than it was suspended Monday afternoon, per the Chronicle.

Fox was a two-time Half Ironman winner who participated within the annual Escape From Alcatraz triathlon for 20 years. Per the Chronicle, fellow open swimmer Sara Rubin wrote on Monterey County Now, the place she’s the editor, that Fox was a “bright light” who was “quick to laugh and seemed to be always smiling.”

“Multiple books have been written about the science of swimming and what it does for our brains,” she wrote. “But Erica never needed a book to tell her what she knew through experience: Swimming in the ocean is a balm for body and mind, an adventure as much as a meditation.”

“She developed a deeply intimate relationship with the Pacific Ocean not by studying it or by looking at it, but by getting into it—again and again and again, on choppy days and gloriously calm days, logging what I can only guess are thousands of miles,” Rubin continued.

Per Bay Area News Group, Lovers Point, which was featured within the 2024 version of Places We Swim California, is a well-liked vacation spot amongst vacationers and locals, however precautions needs to be taken to keep away from coming into contact with sharks, regardless of the chance being low.

This consists of being conscious of the time of yr and the presence of prey, together with elephant seals, harbor seals, and sea lions — in order to keep away from being mistaken for prey. While shark season peaks in September via November, Bay Area News Group writes {that a} buoy run by Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station at Cabrillo Point detected 5 sharks inside about 500 yards of Lovers Point this December, together with two prior to now week, which is simply a small fraction of shark exercise within the space.

Experts additionally advise swimming in teams and staying nearer to shore — so sharks can’t sneak up on swimmers from beneath, per Bay Area News Group.

Caroline Clements, co-author of Places We Swim California instructed Bay Area News Group that Sunday’s incident shouldn’t deter readers from visiting Lovers Point. “Like in California we understand swimming comes with risks and sharks are out there in the water,” Clements stated. “It’s so rare that someone gets bitten but it is a reality. Lovers Point is a beautiful spot loved by many, which is why we included it.”

Image: Kelp Krawlers/Facebook

Previously:Authorities Search for Missing Swimmer Near Pacific Grove Who May Have Been Attacked by Shark