‘Fearless’ triathlete dies after ‘being dragged away by shark whereas swimming’

The 55-year-old was discovered roughly 25 miles from the placement the place she vanished.

Ms Fox had been swimming along with her husband Jean-Francis Vanreusel when the assault occurred on December 21.

The couple had been married for 3 many years.

Her husband confirmed the invention of her physique – and spoke of his profound grief at dropping his spouse.

Mr Vanreusel had been swimming roughly 100 yards behind his spouse, alongside 13 different members of an area swimming membership.

Witnesses reported seeing a shark holding a human physique in its jaws earlier than disappearing beneath the floor, in accordance with Coast Guard officers.

FACEBOOK/ERICA FOX

Ms Fox was found nonetheless sporting an electromagnetic “shark band” round her ankle, a tool designed to repel sharks.

“She didn’t want to live in fear,” Mr Vanreusel informed Mercury News throughout a memorial procession alongside the shoreline on Sunday.

“She lived her life fully.”

Dozens of members of the Kelp Krawlers membership joined the procession, marking her last mile-long swim.

MONTEREY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Ms Fox’s loss of life marks solely the second deadly shark assault at Lovers Point in 73 years.

The earlier fatality occurred in December 1952 when a 17-year-old boy was killed.

And December’s tragedy additionally represents the second assault on a member of the Kelp Krawlers, a swimming membership Ms Fox helped set up.

Fellow member Steve Bruemmer was bitten on the leg three and a half years in the past, surviving solely after close by paddle boarders got here to his rescue.

MONTEREY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

“Will people get back in the ocean? Will they get back in the ocean, but not here?” stated Sharen Carey, a membership member for over a decade.

“I don’t think anyone knows at the moment, because I think we’re all just still in shock, disbelief and grief, not knowing what we need to do next, except to love and support each other,” Ms Carey added.

Local police had referred to as off their search efforts final Monday – however divers had continued in a bid to attempt to discover the triathlete within the days that adopted.

Private agency Bedrock Ocean Exploration volunteered to work alongside the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office dive group and carried out six hours of Sonar sea ground mapping over a 1000 by 500-yard space.