By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
The body of open water swimmer and triathlete Erica Fox has been found after a fatal incident with a shark just south of Davenport Beach near Santa Cruz on Tuesday, December 30, after going missing on December 21.
Fox, 55, was part of an open-water swimming group known as the Kelp Krawlers, and for more than two decades, 16 swimmers would gather at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove on Sunday mornings to swim. On December 21st, 16 went out, and only 15 swimmers returned.
According to Monterey County Now, a swimmer who had already left the water reportedly saw a shark just off the point. 911 was called for a shark in the water by a man who was not a part of the Kelp Krawlers.
The local Fire Department and the Kelp Krawlers worked ot make sure all members were removed from the water, and that was when it was discovered that Fox had not made it back with the group.
Authorities then launched a search mission that Monday (December 22), involving numerous US Coast Guard crews and local fire and police department personnel. According to the Guardian, the 15-hour search covered about 84 square miles but was suspended after Fox was not found.
Just under a week later, firefighters announced that they had found Fox’s body on Davenport Beach on December 28.
Her body still had a “shark band” around the ankle, an electromagnetic device worn to help keep sharks away.
Fox’s death is the second fatal shark attack to occur at Lovers Point in over 70 years; the first was a 17-year-old boy in 1952.
Shark attacks in the US are rare, and fatal attacks are even more rare. According to the Associated Press, the odds of getting attacked by a shark are less likely than getting struck by lightning or being mauled by a bear.
According to the Associated Press, this is not the first dangerous encounter that the group had with a shark; in 2022, fellow Kelp Krawler Steve Brummer was severely injured after being attacked by a great white shark, and he was also wearing a “shark band” at the time of his attack.
The Kelp Krawlers met on the 28th in a walk to honor their fellow teammate, who finished two half Ironmans and a variety of other triathlon races in her career.
“She didn’t want to live in fear,” her husband, Jean-Francois Vanreusel, said in an article by the Associated Press. “She lived her life fully.”
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Open Water Swimmer Erica Fox Killed in Shark Attack Near Santa Cruz
