A man presumed to have been killed by a shark at Wharton Beach, Australia, on Monday, March 10, has been named.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and The Canberra Times, the 37-year-old man from Melbourne — who has been missing since being attacked by a “massive shark” off Western Australia’s south coast — has now been identified as Steven Jeffrey Payne.
On Tuesday, March 11, Senior Sergeant Chris Taylor confirmed in a statement shared on Facebook that WA Police Force, Marine Rescue WA and SES personnel were unable to find Payne’s body, stating that the “search is a recovery not a rescue.”
Meanwhile, authorities stated that they recovered a surfboard with bite marks.
As previously reported that the surfer was attacked by the shark in chest-deep water, per The Sydney Morning Herald.
The attack was witnessed by many beach-goers, with Payne being “spotted in distress” in the water.
Wharton Beach (stock image).
Mario Simijaca/Shutterstock
Per the ABC, Sergeant Taylor said there’s a chance that the search for Payne may be called off on March 11, adding that witnesses and drone footage have assisted in showing what happened.
According to The Canberra Times, a witness’ drone footage filmed a large cloud of blood near the shore as a shark swam away.
The outlet reports that Payne had been traveling with his partner and “loving dog” when the incident occurred, with Sergeant Taylor revealing they were four to five weeks into the six-month trip.
“I’m led to believe they were four to five weeks into that holiday, which obviously has come to an abrupt end,” the sergeant said.
A large white shark in South Australia (stock image).
Getty
Per the ABC, Taylor also added, “The partner observed what happened yesterday, which is tragic.”
“I don’t think there’s much point in utilizing all the resources that we have at the moment too much longer,” he continued. “There’s only so much of the bay you can keep searching over and over. At the moment, we haven’t recovered anything.”
He said, “There was a lot of blood, the shark, and some other things that I don’t think any others need to see.”
The outlet added that Sergeant Taylor mentioned the beach would likely open on Wednesday due to no other signs of the shark.
The Canberra Times reported that Payne’s presumed death is the area’s fourth deadly shark attack since 2017.
