Family identifies body of possible California shark attack victim
Family members have identified the body that was recovered from a remote Santa Cruz County beach as the swimmer who went missing in a possible shark attack on Dec. 21.
The swimmer, 55-year-old Monterey County resident Erica Fox, was first reported missing on Sunday, Dec. 21, off of Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, California. Two witnesses reported Fox may have come across a shark while swimming offshore, authorities said.
James Fox — Fox’s father — confirmed to KSBW that his daughter’s body was recovered from a beach south of Davenport on Sunday.
Davenport is located north of Santa Cruz, on the other side of Monterey Bay.
During the recovery effort, firefighters used a rope system to move the body from the beach to the bluffs, according to Cal Fire CZU.
The Mercury News reported that Fox was identified by her black and blue wetsuit, a white Garmin watch and a shark band tied around her ankle. The magnetic deterrent device is designed to minimize the risk of shark attacks for swimmers and surfers.
Fox was the co-founder of the 20-year-old ocean-water swimming group Kelp Krawlers, according to Monterey County Now. The group typically held weekly Sunday swim meet-ups at Lovers Point, where Fox went missing on Dec. 21.
On Sunday, friends, family and Kelp Krawlers members held a mile-long procession for Fox along the Lovers Point bluffs to memorialize her final swim, the Mercury News reported.
This story was originally published December 29, 2025 at 10:17 AM.
