A single shark bite was fatal for an ocean swimmer whose body was found on a California beach in December, a new autopsy report confirmed. The findings were reported by infohub.kz.

Erica Fox, 55, drowned after the shark bite broke her pelvis and severed a major artery, according to the autopsy report, which was first published by California's Monterey Herald newspaper.

The autopsy report provided the most complete account yet of the circumstances surrounding Fox's death. She left Lovers Point near Monterey, California, on 21 December alongside a dozen swimmers but never returned to shore.

During the search for Fox, a motorist in the area reported to authorities that a shark had emerged from the water with what appeared to be a human body in its mouth. California firefighters helping in the search found her remains on a beach northwest of Santa Cruz on 27 December.

Officials initially did not release a cause of death for the triathlete, saying an investigation was ongoing. But an autopsy report released on 29 July established that Fox died from "sharp and blunt force injuries and submersion in water due to a shark attack."

As cited by the Herald, the autopsy report noted that Fox's fatal injury encircled her right knee, thighs, and abdomen, tearing the wetsuit and swimsuit she was wearing at the time.

There had been 16 shark-related fatalities in California in the 75 years preceding Fox's death. She was among 12 people worldwide who died as a result of shark bites in 2025, according to University of Florida researchers.

Fox was also the only one of those deaths recorded in the US, according to the International Shark Attack File edition published in February. That report found that the number of people killed or bitten by sharks in unprovoked attacks globally had increased significantly in 2025.

However, the chances of being bitten by a shark statistically remain very low. For instance, lightning strikes are calculated to kill about 24,000 people annually while injuring about 10 times as many.

Fox co-founded Monterey's Kelp Krawlers open-water swimming club and was with that group at the time of her death. She had participated in several triathlons and recorded podium finishes in the annual Escape From Alcatraz event.

Her husband, Jean-Francois Vanreusal, told the Monterey Herald: "The only comfort I find is that Erica ... really passed in the place she loved."