Sharks Spotted Near Missing Swimmer’s Body

Three large tiger sharks forced a search team to halt its efforts yesterday to locate and recover the body of a missing swimmer from Northern California who had disappeared from Laniākea Beach in Hawaii on Tuesday evening.

A helicopter spotted the sharks at about 7:30 a.m. near a body that was floating roughly a half mile off Pāpa’iloa Beach.

Lifeguards issued a shark warning and closed all beaches within one mile of the area.

Following ocean safety protocol, the fire department would not allow its rescue divers in the water for a 24-hour period. But the air search continued.

The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai’i is helping the swimmer’s wife of six years and his family. Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai’i officials described the swimmer as a 35-year-old man from Beijing who was living in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Other family members will arrive from Beijing on Saturday, VASH officials said.

Helicopter pilots described the animals around the swimmer as 12- to 15-foot-long tiger sharks.

[source]