Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove, where Erica Fox initially went missing. Photo: Gene Giromini // Unsplash
A coroner has confirmed the cause of death for a woman who went missing at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, California last month. The swimmer had been presumed to be the victim of a shark attack, and an announcement from the Sheriff’s Office finally confirms what happened.
On Sunday, December 21, Erica Fox went missing at Lovers Point. An experienced Triathlete, she had been participating in a weekly swim with the Kelp Krawlers, a Monterey Bay open-water swimming group she co-founded. At around noon, witnesses on the beach saw a large splash, with one onlooker claiming to have seen a shark breach the water with what appeared to be a human body in its mouth.
A search ensued, but was eventually called off after a day with no sign of Fox. A week later, her body was found on a remote pocket beach in Wilder Ranch, just beyond the northern tip of Monterey Bay. According to reports, attached to Fox’s ankle was a “shark band” she had been wearing at the time of the attack.
According to the release from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office, the coroner determined the cause of death to be “sharp and blunt force injuries and submersion in water due to a shark attack.” The manner of death was ruled an accident.
