Heartbroken Husband’s Agonising Wait Ends: Triathlete’s Body Recovered a Week After Shark Attack Off California Coast
- Erica Fox’s body found still clad in her black wetsuit south of Davenport Beach in Santa Cruz, 25 miles from where she was last seen
- Heartbroken husband Jean-Francis Vanreusel reveals his wife of 30 years was wearing a “shark band” on her ankle, designed to ward off sharks
- Tragic death is the second fatal shark attack at Lovers Point in 73 years, sparking fears among the local swimming community
In a devastating development, the body of triathlete Erica Fox has been recovered a week after she was dragged underwater by a shark while swimming with her husband off the California coast. Fox’s corpse was found Saturday afternoon still clad in her black wetsuit south of Davenport Beach in Santa Cruz, about 25 miles from where she was last seen.
Her heartbroken husband, Jean-Francis Vanreusel, had been swimming about 100 yards behind his wife with 13 other members of a local swimming club on December 21 when the tragedy occurred. Witnesses reported seeing a shark with a human body in its jaws before it submerged, a Coast Guard official said.
In a poignant tribute to his wife, Vanreusel revealed that Fox was still wearing a “shark band” on her ankle, an electromagnetic device designed to ward off sharks like the one that killed her. “She didn’t want to live in fear,” Vanreusel told Mercury News during a solemn procession along the coastline Sunday, marking her last mile-long swim with dozens of Kelp Krawlers club members.
“She lived her life fully,” Vanreusel said, his voice cracking with emotion. The procession was a poignant reminder of the impact Fox had on her community, with dozens of Kelp Krawlers club members turning out to pay their respects.
Fox’s tragic death is the second fatal shark attack at Lovers Point in 73 years, and the first since a 17-year-old boy was killed in December 1952. It’s also the second attack on a Kelp Krawler member in just three and a half years, sparking fears among the local swimming community.
“Will people get back in the ocean? Will they get back in the ocean, but not here?” wondered Sharen Carey, who has been swimming with the Kelp Krawlers for more than 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.”