The Santa Cruz County Coroner’s Office has identified a body recovered on a remote Santa Cruz County beach as a swimmer who went missing following a suspected shark attack in Pacific Grove on Dec. 21.
The victim was Erica Fox, 55, a co-founder of Kelp Krawlers, a swim group that traditionally meets for Sunday swims at Lovers Point.
She disappeared during the group’s weekly swim, which included about a dozen swimmers. While the group returned to shore, Fox did not.
Erica Fox’s father, James Fox, and her husband, Jean-Francois Vanreusel, confirmed to KSBW 8 that the woman recovered from a “remote pocket beach” in Wilder Ranch was his daughter. He said officials identified her based on the clothing she was wearing.
On Monday, the Santa Cruz County Coroner’s Office, which is responsible for official identification, confirmed the body was Erica Fox’s.
“The Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest condolences to Erica’s family and friends during this tragic time,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a media statement.
Witnesses reported seeing a large splash and a possible shark encounter near Lovers Point around noon on Dec. 21.
A driver told the U.S. Coast Guard they saw a shark breach with what appeared to be a human body before disappearing underwater. Another swimmer in the group later confirmed that Fox was unaccounted for.
Crews formally suspended the search for Fox on Monday evening after they were unable to locate any signs of her.
Then, around 12:35 p.m. Saturday, CAL FIRE CZU said it helped recover a woman’s body from the water at a beach south of Davenport, near Wilder Ranch—about 45 miles north of Pacific Grove.
James Fox said several members of the Kelp Krawlers swim club gathered at Lovers Point on Sunday for an impromptu memorial to honor Erica.
Officials have not yet announced Fox’s cause of death. The Sheriff’s Office told KSBW 8 that an autopsy had not been conducted and said they could not comment on whether her injuries were consistent with a shark attack.
