A body recovered from the ocean along California’s central coast may bring a tragic end to the search for a swimmer who vanished days earlier amid reports of a possible shark attack.
On Saturday, Dec. 27, authorities recovered a body from the water south of Davenport Beach, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. The discovery came just miles north of where 55-year-old swimmer Erica Fox was reported missing a week earlier.
“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 Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared on Facebook.
Firefighters with Cal Fire assisted in the recovery, using a rope system to move the body from the beach up to the bluffs. Authorities initially declined to confirm the identity or gender of the person found.
On Sunday, Fox’s father told KSBW that family members identified the body as Fox based on the clothing, according to reporting from ABC News.
Fox disappeared on Dec. 21 while swimming near Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, Monterey County. At the time, emergency responders launched an extensive search by sea and air after reports of a shark sighting in the area.
Pacific Grove Police later identified the missing swimmer as Fox in a social media statement.
“The search, which began on Sunday, December 21 and continued Monday, December 22, was suspended after more than 15 hours of search operations covering an area of over 84 square nautical miles,” police said. “The swimmer was identified as Erica Fox, a resident of Monterey County.”
The Pacific Grove Police Department and city officials extended condolences to Fox’s family following the suspension of the search.
Details surrounding the shark sighting added a chilling layer to the case. Christopher Sappey of the U.S. Coast Guardpreviously confirmed that a witness reported seeing a shark breach the water near the time Fox disappeared.
“The person who reported the shark sighting claimed they saw a shark breach the water with what appeared to be a human body in its mouth,” Sappey told SFGATE. “They then witnessed the shark submerge below the waterline without resurfacing.”
Sappey cautioned that investigators could not definitively link the sighting to Fox’s disappearance due to a lack of confirming evidence.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said additional information will be released as the investigation continues.
