Shark kills 26-year-old surfer off closed Northern California beach, officials say

A 26-year-old surfer died Saturday afternoon in a shark attack off a Santa Cruz, California, beach partly closed by coronavirus lockdowns, state officials say.

The Santa Cruz County Coroner’s Office identified him as Ben Kelly, “who is well known within the Santa Cruz surfing community,” KPIX reported.

Kelly was attacked about one mile south of Manresa State Beach, which lies south of Santa Cruz on Monterey Bay, the California Department of Parks and Recreation reported. It’s not known what kind of shark attacked him.

The attack took place about 100 yards offshore, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department wrote on Facebook.

Terri Tucker, who lives nearby, said she saw the shark’s dorsal fin from her window after looking up from reading a book, The Mercury News reported.

“At the time, my thought was, ‘My goodness, that’s one huge dolphin,’” Tucker said, according to the publication. When she returned to her window after answering a phone call, rescue crews were all over the beach.

Rescuers pronounced Kelly, who suffered a leg injury, dead at the scene following the 1:30 p.m. attack, KPIX reported.

Kelly, a surfboard shaper, owned Ben Kelly Surfboards in Santa Cruz.

“Why do I shape surfboards? Well... it’s something I’ve done since I was a kid. A sort of escape from an overly-productive world to a simpler more creative space!” Kelly wrote on his company’s site.

“What started as a way to fuel my own surfing passion has now become a way to stoke out my fellow surfers, and that is truly fulfilling to me,” he wrote. “It’s the way I have found to give back to others.”

Tributes to Kelly poured in on his shop’s Instagram page.

“so sad man i was surfing 1/4 mile away from you during the attack. i ran over when i saw all the police cars. so sad praying for you and your family,” read one post.

“It was an honor to know you and to experience the capacity and ferocity you loved others with,” read another.

State park officials closed the water one mile south and north of the attack for five days, they said. Signs warning beach-goers of the attack have been placed on the beach.

With the exception of watersports, Manresa State Beach had already been closed from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and open only to locals with no vehicular access at other times.

This story was originally published May 10, 2020 at 6:48 AM with the headline "Shark kills 26-year-old surfer off closed Northern California beach, officials say."