A man who was with a large group celebrating a wedding was reported missing near California’s Bay Area after being attacked by a shark, witnesses and authorities said.
The swimmer, a 52-year-old man, was “reportedly pulled underwater after being attacked by a shark near a remote area called Wildcat Beach at the southern end of Point Reyes National Park at 10:30 a.m. Sunday,” the New York Post reported.
Officials with the Coast Guard and the National Park Service said they called off the water search for the missing man on Monday morning, although the rescue mission continues on the ground. The man had been backpacking with a group that was in the area celebrating a wedding, witnesses told The San Francisco Standard.
“My son came up to me, and he said he heard some screaming,” Samantha Edell told the outlet. “We came out, and a group was gathered around that area where the water is, and they were looking for someone who could call emergency services because there’s no cell service there.”
Edell said she was camping with her son the day of the shark attack and brought members of the group to her campsite so they could call authorities for help.
“They told me that their friend was out swimming, and he was attacked by a shark,” Edell said. “I said, ‘How bad is it?’ They said he never came out of the water.”
The Coast Guard was reached roughly 10 minutes after the the alleged attack occurred. Officials said the search was conducted by water, air, and land.
A National Park Service advisory said the United States Coast Guard “suspended its search in the frigid waters” on Monday “but a ground search is being conducted by first responders from the NPS, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Marin County Fire Department, and the Stinson Beach Fire Department.”
Officials began contacting the man’s family after the water search was called off, according to the report.
