A surfer was taken by a shark at Wharton Beach on Monday March 10 while his partner watched the tragedy unfold from the shore.
Police say the victim was 37-year-old Steven Payne from Victoria who had arrived in Esperance the day before as part of planned six-month travelling holiday with his partner.
They were only about 4-5 weeks into their trip when it ended abruptly on Monday afternoon.
A possible surfer in distress was reported to police at 12.10pm after it was believed a surfer had been the victim of “serious shark bite incident” a police spokesperson said. Soon after, a surfboard with evidence of bite marks was pulled from the water of Wharton Beach while authorities searched for the missing surfer.
At press conference at Wharton Beach on Tuesday March 11, Esperance Police revealed the identity of Mr Payne after the search efforts for the surfer had come up short.
Senior Sergeant of Chris Taylor said drone footage provided by a witness had changed their search mission to a recovery mission although authorities were “still looking”.
“The drone footage shows a lot of blood in the water, the shark and the surfboard,” he said.
“When she saw what was going on she retrieved the drone and stopped filming.”
Snr Sgt Taylor said Mr Payne had been one of three surfers in the water at the time of the attack.
He said the two other surfers had witnessed the attack but were unable to assist.
Snr Sgt Taylor said DPIRD was responsible for addressing what was to happen to the shark that attacked Mr Payne, but the victim’s family had made it clear they were against culling.
Wharton beach remained closed as of Tuesday afternoon with chances of it reopening on Wednesday Snr Sgt Taylor said.
