Officials believe they have located the remains of a man who went missing days ago inside the body of a shark.
According to the Associated Press, as well as local Argentinian outlet El País, Diego Barría was last seen on February 18 riding his quad bike on a beach in the Chubut province shortly before he was declared missing.
Authorities had no luck finding the 32-year-old though they did stumble across his bike wrecked near Rocas Coloradas just two days later.
He wasn't found until two local fishermen told the coast guard that they had caught three sharks early on Sunday morning, one of which had clear traces of human remains within the body after it was cut open.
Daniela Millatruz, the law enforcement officer who was in charge of the search for Barría, said that "when [the fishermen] were cleaning [the sharks] they found human remains in one of them."
When the evidence was presented to family members, they immediately recognized the father-of-three "due to a tattoo that appeared in one of those remains," she added.
As per AP, officials are continuing to investigate what exactly happened to Barría, though it is suspected that there was an accident involved.
"We presume Diego had an accident," Millatruz added. "And we’re investigating if there was a vehicle involved."
Cristian Ansaldo, who heads up the police department in the city of Comodoro Rivadavia, said that the rest of the evidence will undergo DNA testing so the results can be officially confirmed.
"One of the strongest hypotheses is that [Barría] collided with a rock [while driving the ATV] and that his body was carried away by the sea," Ansaldo said, according to the AP, "but we are going to handle all the possible theories with the evidence found at the site."
He pointed out that there was a strong tidal surge the weekend that the victim disappeared, as per a Sky News report.
It was also confirmed that the school shark in which the human remains were found measured in around 4.9 feet, Ansaldo said.
Prior to his disappearance, Barría texted his wife Virginia Brugger to tell her that he would be coming home later than originally expected. It was reportedly the last time the two communicated before Barría's sudden death.
Taking to Facebook on Sunday, the heartbroken wife posted a snapshot of the pair together alongside the caption: "My heart went out to you! I love you forever."
The post has since seen hundreds of people share their condolences in the comments.
Our hearts go out to Barría's family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.
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