Authorities are desperately searching for the body of a 37-year-old surfer who was fatally attacked by a shark while surfing off Wharton Beach on Western Australia’s southwest coast.
Steven Payne, a New Zealand native, was in chest-deep water about 50 meters from shore when the attack occurred on Monday, The Independent reports.
His girlfriend and other onlookers could do nothing but watch in horror as they heard his screams.
A Desperate Search for Payne’s Body
Emergency services rushed to the remote beach around midday, quickly closing the area and launching a search mission. However, when drone footage captured by a bystander was reviewed by police, the operation shifted from a rescue to a recovery mission.
Authorities have since found Payne’s surfboard, which was marked with bite wounds, but his body remains missing.
Western Australia Police Force Senior Sergeant Christopher Taylor confirmed on Tuesday (March 11) that at least two other surfers were in the water at the time of the attack, but there was “nothing they could do, nothing".
"It (the drone footage) shows a lot of blood, the shark, and some other things in there I don't particularly want to go into, and I don't think anybody else needs to see other than maybe the coroner and some other experts who will determine the type of shark and size," Taylor said.
A Devastating End to an Adventure
The deadly attack occurred just weeks into a six-month trip that Payne and his girlfriend had embarked on to explore Australia with their dog.
Taylor described Payne’s grief-stricken partner as “distraught.”
"Her life was turned upside down... You can imagine how she is, it's just horrible. It is heartbreaking obviously, and the whole community of Esperance feels the pain—not as much as the family. They're distraught and trying to come to terms with what happened," he said.
A Well-Respected Man Mourned by Friends and Family
Payne was a sales and marketing director in Melbourne and a volunteer firefighter.
Originally from Lower Hutt, New Zealand, he was known as a talented rugby player and a loyal friend.
"He was an incredible person who was always there for his mates," one school friend told 7 News, calling the news “devastating.”
Another described him as a “really good lad” who had only recently moved to Melbourne. Payne and his girlfriend had been together for more than 10 years, and he had previously lived in Namibia.
His family is believed to be traveling to Australia as they try to process the heartbreaking loss.
Shark Activity in the Area
Witnesses reported seeing a "massive shark" attack Payne, and shortly after the incident, shark monitoring website SharkSmart detected an unidentified species of shark near the Esperance shoreline.
The surfboard will be tested in hopes of identifying the species and size of the predator responsible for the fatal attack.
This marks the third fatal shark attack in the Esperance region in the past eight years.
However, authorities have reported no further shark sightings in the area.
“We’ve got absolutely fantastic beaches, and we get a lot of people down here who visit them. It is really sad that something like this has happened on that particular beach,” Esperance Shire president Ron Chambers told ABC. "They’re a wild animal out in the ocean. People need to be vigilant and manage that risk as much as possible."
Authorities continue to search for Payne’s body, as the community reels from yet another tragic encounter with the ocean’s apex predator.