Remnants of what appeared to be a wetsuit and surfboard were found off the coast of South Australia Monday after 46-year Simon Baccanello was attacked while surfing over the weekend.
Baccanello is still missing after he was attacked by a shark near his home at Elliston, in what could be the first fatal shark attack in Australia since February.
His board was found damaged with “one bite in the middle,” local State Emergency Service manager Trevlyn Smith told News Corp.
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Fellow surfers witnessed the attack with one man describing how he “saw his board tombstoning.”
Which meant that “he’s underwater and his board’s getting dragged under…[while he was] trying to fight his way back to the surface,” Jaiden Millar, who was one of dozens in the water at the time of the attack, explained.
South Australia Police officers said Sunday that “items of interest” had begun washing ashore near Walkers Rock where the attack took place as authorities continue their search.
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“One item appears to be a piece of wetsuit material and the other items appear to be small pieces of white polystyrene (possible surfboard material),” the police said in a statement.
The evidence found will be sent for forensic analysis to help with the investigation.
The police will continue their search in consultation with the Baccanello family in the area surrounding Walkers Rock after high tide.
Officials said that any remains are more likely to drift ashore rather than out to sea.
The attack Saturday is likely the first fatal shark attack since a swimmer was killed on Feb. 15 by a 15-foot great white shark off of a beach in Sydney.
The February attack came less than two weeks after a 16-year-old boy was also killed after jumping into a river in Perth in Western Australia by a suspected bull shark.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
