Report: Great white shark killed California bodyboarder

Mar 29, 2022, 7:32 PM | Updated: 9:42 pm

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — A bodyboarder was attacked by a great white shark in central California on Christmas Eve and died within minutes, official reports have concluded.

Tomas Abraham Butterfield, 42, was bitten in the head, chest and shoulder in the Morro Bay attack and died from “complications of multiple penetrating blunt force traumatic injuries,” according to a coroner’s report, The Tribune of San Luis Obispo County reported Tuesday.

A piece of what appeared to be a shark’s tooth was found on his body, the Tribune said, citing a report by a sheriff’s detective that was among documents released to the paper under a public records request.

The size or age of the shark wasn’t estimated, but the radius of one bite mark was as large as 16 inches (40.64 centimeters), according to the detective’s report.

Butterfield was attacked on Dec. 24 while bodyboarding just north of Morro Rock. The Sacramento man had been visiting his mother and brother for the holidays.

Butterfield was pulled from the waves after a surfer saw him face down in the water, still tethered to his bodyboard. He died at the scene.

In the coroner’s report, a pathologist noted that Butterfield had a fractured skull, crushed ribs and other injuries, including to the inferior vena cava, a large vein that carries blood from the torso and lower body to the heart.

Dr. Joye Carter said Butterfield died within minutes.

A DNA sample taken during the autopsy confirmed that the injuries were from a great white shark, according to Mike Harris of California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which assisted in the investigation.

It wasn’t clear whether the shark attacked just once or made several lunges.

Morro Bay is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
3 days ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
3 days ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
9 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
17 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
17 days ago
Tom Brundy points to a newly built irrigation canal on one of the fields at his farm Tuesday, Feb. ...
Associated Press

Southwest farmers reluctant to idle farmland to save water

There is a growing sense that fallowing will have to be part of the solution to the increasingly desperate drought in the West.
24 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...
Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.
...
Fiesta Bowl Foundation

Celebrate 50 years of Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade magic!

Since its first production in the early 1970s, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe has been a staple of Valley traditions, bringing family fun and excitement to downtown Phoenix.
(Desert Institute for Spine Care photo)...
DESERT INSTITUTE FOR SPINE CARE

Why DISC is world renowned for back and neck pain treatments

Fifty percent of Americans and 90% of people at least 50 years old have some level of degenerative disc disease.
Report: Great white shark killed California bodyboarder