The body of a triathlete who went missing after a harrowing shark attack off the California coast has been found, her father has confirmed. Rescue crews pulled a body from the ocean south of Davenport Beach in Santa Cruz at around 2 p.m. on Saturday, the county sheriff's office said.
The victim was later identified as 55-year-old Erica Fox by her heartbroken father, James Fox, according to NBC Bay Area. The grim discovery was made almost a week after Fox suddenly vanished while swimming near Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, where witnesses said Fox was attacked by a shark. The triathlete's sudden disappearance sent shockwaves through the close-knit swimming community.
Grim Discovery after Shark Attack
Lovers Point and Davenport Beach both sit along the rugged Monterey Bay coastline, about 30 miles apart. While James Fox has said the body is his daughter's, Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office Sergeant Ryan Farotte told the Daily Mail on Sunday night that authorities have not yet formally confirmed the identity.
However, due to its proximity to where Fox vanished, investigators from Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, along with Pacific Grove police, are working together to piece together what happened.
Fox was last seen on December 21 at around 11:30 a.m., swimming with fellow members of the Kelp Krawlers — the recreational swim club she co-founded two decades ago and helped grow into a tight, supportive community.
The group, which often meets at Lovers Point, ran into trouble when the 15 swimmers rounded the point and entered Otter Cove. One Kelp Krawler who had turned back early later reported spotting a shark about 100 yards from the point, The Mercury News said.
At the same time, a driver who had stopped at a nearby stop sign called the US Coast Guard, saying he saw a shark break the surface with what looked like a human body in its mouth before disappearing back beneath the water.
Chilling Moment Body Is Found
The chilling sightings sent swimmers rushing back toward shore. But when they regrouped and counted heads, Fox was missing. Among those left in shock on the beach was her husband of 30 years, Jean-Francois Vanreusel, who had been swimming with the group when the nightmare unfolded.
"It started to click that everybody was back on shore but Erica," Sharon Carey, who stayed close to the shore during her swim, told The Mercury News.
"I just felt numb. I was hoping that maybe she got out of the water and then decided to walk back."
First responders rushed in almost immediately, but despite their efforts, the initial search turned up nothing. For nearly 15 exhausting hours, boats, helicopters, and dive teams combed the waters before the official rescue operation was finally called off.
Still, the search never truly stopped. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office continued working alongside independent groups, including Bedrock Ocean Exploration and the Angel's Recovery Dive Team, refusing to give up hope. On Saturday, that determination led to a tragic breakthrough when Cal Fire's San Mateo–Santa Cruz unit used a rope system to recover Fox's body from the water.
Fox was a passionate swimmer and natural leader, often setting the pace for the Kelp Krawlers during their ocean swims. Her love for endurance sports ran deep — she had completed two half-Ironman races and took part in the iconic Escape from Alcatraz triathlon nearly every year for two decades, her father told NBC News.
Those who swam alongside her remember her not just for her athleticism, but for her spirit. Fellow Kelp Krawler Lisa Jensen described Fox as "incredibly cheerful, bubbly, funny, joyful, and kind," someone who understood the dangers of open-water swimming but embraced the ocean with respect.
Fox was deeply curious about marine life and had even attended a "Sharktober" seminar at Hopkins Marine Station, just north of Lovers Point, to learn more about sharks.
In 2013, she shared a Facebook photo capturing a shark swimming calmly beside a scuba diver — a reflection of both her fascination with the sea and her belief in understanding, rather than fearing, it.
"This is the most dangerous animal in the world and next to it [is] a shark swimming peacefully," the caption read.
Even after fellow swimmer Steve Bruemmer survived a brutal shark attack in June 2022 that left him with serious leg injuries, Fox continued to speak up for the animals, urging people to understand them rather than fear them.
At the time, she told reporters she didn't like calling such encounters a "shark attack," saying she preferred gentler terms like "incident" or "bite."
"As soon as you dive in the water, you're immediately in a foreign land," she told The Independent following the attack on Bruemmer.
"We are the ocean ecology's humble guests," Fox added.
