The body of expert swimmer Erica Fox, 55, was recovered in December 2025 after she vanished on a swim with 15 other people

NEED TO KNOW

The cause of death of a missing woman found dead at a California beach has been revealed.

Erica Fox, 55, was last seen off Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, Monterey County, around noon on Dec. 21, while swimming with a group of 15 other people. Her body was recovered six days later from the ocean south of Davenport Beach, PEOPLE previously reported.

Fox’s father said the family identified her body based on the clothes she was wearing when she disappeared, per ABC’s Santa Cruz affiliate KSBW. Pacific Grove Police also confirmed Fox as the deceased, per Instagram.

On Wednesday, July 29, an autopsy report from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office (SCSCO) determined that Fox died from “sharp and blunt force injuries and submersion in water due to a shark attack,” per Monterey Herald and The San Bernardino Sun.According to the outlets, Fox suffered a single fatal bite to her legs and torso, leaving her with tooth wounds from her knees to her abdomen, a broken pelvis and a 10-inch gaping wound across her right hip and abdomen. Her wetsuit and swimsuit were ripped in areas where her injuries occurred.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that a driver called 911 saying that he saw a shark burst from the water with what they believed was a person in its mouth, before disappearing underwater. A second witness also reported seeing a shark in the area, per the San Bernardino Sun.

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Fox’s death marks the third shark encounter at Lovers Point since June 2022, according to Monterey Herald.

The rocky coastline near Lovers Point attracts sea lions and seals, which are primary prey for white sharks. Large white sharks typically migrate from the Pacific toward the coast October through January, per the Monterey Herald and The San Bernardino Sun.

Chris Lowe, a professor of marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach, told the Monterey Herald, “The only explanation we can come up with in cases like this is that the shark made a mistake. It mistook a person for a seal or a sea lion.”

“This was a big shark. I think she was probably knocked unconscious immediately. It was a horrible trauma,” he added.

Fox co-founded the ocean swim group the Kelp Krawlers over 20 years ago.

Club member Lisa Jensen, described her as “always out leading the pack” and someone who “love[d] the ocean.”

Fox’s husband, Jean-Francois Vanreusal, told Monterey Herald, “The only comfort I find is that Erica was every Sunday here, excited to go in the water. She really passed in the place she loved.”