Woman, 60, vanishes at sea after husband claims they were attacked by a shark while snorkelling in Hawaii
MAUI, HAWAII: A 60-year-old woman from Washington vanished while snorkelling in Hawaii, after she and her husband attempted to fight off a shark. Only a portion of his wife's swimsuit and snorkelling equipment washed ashore on the beach on December 8 after the husband swam back to shore.
The couple's names have not been made public. A shark attack was reported at Keawakapu Point in South Maui which is 50 yards from shore, prompting the deployment of search workers. The husband claimed that he and his wife fought off the shark who swam past them several times. He tried to look for his wife in the water but returned to shore after failing to do so.
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Dan Dennison, senior communications manager for the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, said he was unable to comment on the specifics of the attack. According to local sources, the missing woman was last seen with snorkelling equipment and a blue bathing suit. He confirmed that there was "an ongoing search for a person who possibly encountered a shark earlier today."
The search operation has comprised crews from the US Coast Guard, Maui Ocean Safety, Maui Fire's Air 1 helicopter, and the Maui Fire Department. DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement personnel and first responders are also on the scene looking for her. Numerous firefighters from the Maui Fire Department are consucting searches in the water, while MFD Air 1 and the US Coast Guard planes are doing aerial searches, as per PEOPLE.
The @USCG, Ocean Safety and Maui Fire Dept. are currently searching for a 60 year-old female snorkeler missing due to a possible shark attack last seen Dec. 8, off Keawakapu Beach, Maui.
— USCG Hawaii Pacific (@USCGHawaiiPac) December 9, 2022
Anyone with information is requested to contact Sector Honolulu at 808-842-2600. pic.twitter.com/gyBPaH4bFy
"At this time, they have not spotted anyone in the water," Dennison said, adding that authorities planned to keep the search going "until nightfall." The area is closed to the public until authorities re-evaluate the matter in the morning. Dennison advised people to "stay clear of the area" on land and in the water in the meantime.
According to him, the policies for shark-related cases prevents them from disclosing any information about possible victims. "Once we have that information, we will share it with the media," Dennison said. When questioned about objects found near the shark attack, Dennison stated that authorities "could not confirm" who the objects belonged to.
The situation is being classified as "a possible shark-human encounter," he continued, adding that he is unable to confirm that the man's wife is the person that rescuers are looking for. "You can kind of connect dots, but that's what we would presume," said Dennison. There have been no other sightings of the shark since the man's initial report, Dennison said, adding that Maui "has the most human-shark encounters of the main Hawaiian islands."
"There's not a lot of information to release now because they don't know exactly what they're dealing with," Dennison added. He went on to share experts' warnings on how to avoid encounters with sharks. "Don't go in the water if it's murky. I have no idea what the ocean conditions were in that area this afternoon. Don't go in after dark, before sunrise. Always swim or snorkel...in the ocean with a companion," he said.
