How come nobody knows what happened? Was he diving alone?
Posted on Sat, Feb. 25, 2006
San Jose man may have drowned before shark attack
By Dana HullMercury News
By many accounts, Anthony Moore was an experienced diver. The 45-year-old San Jose engineer left a detailed ``float plan'' with his wife before heading out for a free-diving excursion off the south coast of Maui Thursday.
Then something went terribly wrong. When he failed to return as scheduled, his wife called 911, prompting a massive search by the US Coast Guard and Maui authorities.
On Friday morning, a kayaker discovered parts of Moore's shark-bitten body off the coast near Makena. The coroner's office received three different sections of remains: a pelvis and lower extremities. A Coast Gaurd official said Saturday that Moore's wife identified her husband by a lanyard that included his rental car key.
``We're not able to determine the cause of death,'' said Dr. Tony Manoukian, a coroner's physician, from the morgue at Maui Memorial Medical Center Saturday. ``We can't exclude the possibility that he was dead at the time of the attack.''
Manoukian, a forensic pathologist, said this was his fourth autopsy of a shark attack victim. He said the fact that the kidney was congested with blood indicated that Moore probably drowned and was then attacked by sharks, as opposed to bleeding to death while alive.
``We see shallow water blackouts and drowning more frequently than shark attacks,'' said Manoukian, who said that DNA testing or recovering the skull and dental records would be required to positively identify the body.
``It may have been more than one species of shark,'' Manoukian said. ``But we have no evidence that it was anything other than a tiger or reef shark.''
Moore was an engineer at Code Green Networks of Sunnyvale.
``He was very well liked, and he'll be missed,'' said Bob Verheecke, who recently joined the company as Chief Financial Officer.
Remains found may be lost diver
By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer
MAKENA – Human remains were recovered Friday morning from the ocean off Makena in an area where a missing 45-year-old California man had been free diving Thursday afternoon, officials said.
The remains recovered at about 9 a.m. had injuries that were consistent with shark bites, said police Lt. Glenn Cuomo of the police Criminal Investigation Division.
The remains were initially reported by a kayak tour guide who sighted what turned out to be a portion of a human torso floating on the ocean surface. Rescue divers later recovered more of the body from the ocean bottom.
After the discovery Friday morning, state officials closed the stretch of shoreline from Black Sand Beach in Makena to the area fronting The Fairmont Kea Lani Maui, said Randy Awo, Maui branch chief of enforcement for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. He said the beach area was expected to remain closed until noon today.
The free diver, identified as Anthony Moore of San Jose, reportedly left from Makena Landing at 3 p.m. Thursday, according to the Coast Guard, which joined police, fire rescue crews and Maui County lifeguards in a search Thursday night.
He was described as a strong swimmer and dive master.
The visitor’s wife called 911 at 6:58 p.m. Thursday after he didn’t return to the Kihei condominium where they were staying, according to the Maui Fire Department. The man had been due back at 5 p.m. Police searched the shoreline, finding the visitor’s rental car in the paved parking lot at Makena Landing at 7:54 p.m.
The Maui Fire Department’s Air One rescue helicopter searched the shoreline and ocean from Makena Landing to Big Beach, starting at 7:54 p.m. and continuing until 11:15 p.m. Thursday.
A Coast Guard 25-foot rigid hull boat from the Maalaea station, a C-130 aircraft and a Dolphin helicopter with night-vision capabilities also joined in the search Thursday night.
Air One resumed the search at 6:15 a.m. Friday, with fire divers also looking for the missing man.
Awo said officials received information that human remains were seen Friday morning by a kayaker who was about 250 yards offshore from Makena in the area known as “Five Graves.”
Maui Kayaks tour guide Chris Corbat said he took off from Makena Landing early Friday morning and noticed helicopters and watercraft searching the area but didn’t know the reason for the search.
“We saw the Coast Guard going back and forth this morning and wondered what was going on,” he said.
He said his tour group had gone north along the coastline and was on the way back toward Makena Landing when he saw something about 100 to 150 yards off the “Five Graves” area near the Makena Surf condominium project.
“We were paddling back and saw something bobbing in the water,” Corbat said. “It didn’t look like any kind of fish or anything, and we went to see what it was.”
When he recognized it as part of a person, he said he signaled a Maui Dive Shop boat in the area. The dive boat crew picked up the remains, placing it in a bag while calling the Coast Guard.
“It was very unnerving. That was a live human being,” Corbat said. “We dive there all the time. It’s a beautiful spot, not only for scuba but for diving and paddling.”
Corbat, 45, said he has been leading kayak tours for about five years and has only occasionally seen white tip sharks in the Makena area. The white tip is a common reef shark that grows up to 5 feet and is considered to be approachable and nonaggressive.
Rich Jurgens, owner of Maui Kayaks, said he was out with another group Friday when Corbat discovered the remains, and water safety officers ordered everyone out of the ocean around Makena.
People were understanding when the kayaking tours were cut short, Jurgens said. “They knew what it was,” he said. “They knew what we were doing and were very cooperative and very compassionate.”
Otherwise, he said, the conditions were ideal for diving and paddling along the South Maui coast.
“The conditions were incredible today,” Jurgens said. “The water was beautiful, the visibility was excellent, there were no waves, very minimal surf. It was a premium day to kayak.”
Some area residents, who gathered near Makena Landing to watch the search efforts Friday, said conditions had been good Thursday afternoon as well.
After talking to others who had been in the water in the area Friday, Jurgens said no one had seen anything unusual, although one diver reported seeing a white tip shark.
“No sharks were spotted in the area or near the area” where the remains were recovered, said acting Battalion Chief Jack Williams of the Maui Fire Department, which had rescue personnel aboard the Air One helicopter and in a rescue boat and doing surface dives in the search area.
Kihei ocean safety officers aboard personal watercraft also helped with the search.
At 11:30 a.m., rescue crews recovered additional remains with gear matching the description of what the missing diver was wearing, Williams said.
The search was suspended at 1:30 p.m.
An autopsy was scheduled for today, police said.
Posted on Sat, Feb. 25, 2006
San Jose man may have drowned before shark attack
By Dana HullMercury News
By many accounts, Anthony Moore was an experienced diver. The 45-year-old San Jose engineer left a detailed ``float plan'' with his wife before heading out for a free-diving excursion off the south coast of Maui Thursday.
Then something went terribly wrong. When he failed to return as scheduled, his wife called 911, prompting a massive search by the US Coast Guard and Maui authorities.
On Friday morning, a kayaker discovered parts of Moore's shark-bitten body off the coast near Makena. The coroner's office received three different sections of remains: a pelvis and lower extremities. A Coast Gaurd official said Saturday that Moore's wife identified her husband by a lanyard that included his rental car key.
``We're not able to determine the cause of death,'' said Dr. Tony Manoukian, a coroner's physician, from the morgue at Maui Memorial Medical Center Saturday. ``We can't exclude the possibility that he was dead at the time of the attack.''
Manoukian, a forensic pathologist, said this was his fourth autopsy of a shark attack victim. He said the fact that the kidney was congested with blood indicated that Moore probably drowned and was then attacked by sharks, as opposed to bleeding to death while alive.
``We see shallow water blackouts and drowning more frequently than shark attacks,'' said Manoukian, who said that DNA testing or recovering the skull and dental records would be required to positively identify the body.
``It may have been more than one species of shark,'' Manoukian said. ``But we have no evidence that it was anything other than a tiger or reef shark.''
Moore was an engineer at Code Green Networks of Sunnyvale.
``He was very well liked, and he'll be missed,'' said Bob Verheecke, who recently joined the company as Chief Financial Officer.
Remains found may be lost diver
By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer
MAKENA – Human remains were recovered Friday morning from the ocean off Makena in an area where a missing 45-year-old California man had been free diving Thursday afternoon, officials said.
The remains recovered at about 9 a.m. had injuries that were consistent with shark bites, said police Lt. Glenn Cuomo of the police Criminal Investigation Division.
The remains were initially reported by a kayak tour guide who sighted what turned out to be a portion of a human torso floating on the ocean surface. Rescue divers later recovered more of the body from the ocean bottom.
After the discovery Friday morning, state officials closed the stretch of shoreline from Black Sand Beach in Makena to the area fronting The Fairmont Kea Lani Maui, said Randy Awo, Maui branch chief of enforcement for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. He said the beach area was expected to remain closed until noon today.
The free diver, identified as Anthony Moore of San Jose, reportedly left from Makena Landing at 3 p.m. Thursday, according to the Coast Guard, which joined police, fire rescue crews and Maui County lifeguards in a search Thursday night.
He was described as a strong swimmer and dive master.
The visitor’s wife called 911 at 6:58 p.m. Thursday after he didn’t return to the Kihei condominium where they were staying, according to the Maui Fire Department. The man had been due back at 5 p.m. Police searched the shoreline, finding the visitor’s rental car in the paved parking lot at Makena Landing at 7:54 p.m.
The Maui Fire Department’s Air One rescue helicopter searched the shoreline and ocean from Makena Landing to Big Beach, starting at 7:54 p.m. and continuing until 11:15 p.m. Thursday.
A Coast Guard 25-foot rigid hull boat from the Maalaea station, a C-130 aircraft and a Dolphin helicopter with night-vision capabilities also joined in the search Thursday night.
Air One resumed the search at 6:15 a.m. Friday, with fire divers also looking for the missing man.
Awo said officials received information that human remains were seen Friday morning by a kayaker who was about 250 yards offshore from Makena in the area known as “Five Graves.”
Maui Kayaks tour guide Chris Corbat said he took off from Makena Landing early Friday morning and noticed helicopters and watercraft searching the area but didn’t know the reason for the search.
“We saw the Coast Guard going back and forth this morning and wondered what was going on,” he said.
He said his tour group had gone north along the coastline and was on the way back toward Makena Landing when he saw something about 100 to 150 yards off the “Five Graves” area near the Makena Surf condominium project.
“We were paddling back and saw something bobbing in the water,” Corbat said. “It didn’t look like any kind of fish or anything, and we went to see what it was.”
When he recognized it as part of a person, he said he signaled a Maui Dive Shop boat in the area. The dive boat crew picked up the remains, placing it in a bag while calling the Coast Guard.
“It was very unnerving. That was a live human being,” Corbat said. “We dive there all the time. It’s a beautiful spot, not only for scuba but for diving and paddling.”
Corbat, 45, said he has been leading kayak tours for about five years and has only occasionally seen white tip sharks in the Makena area. The white tip is a common reef shark that grows up to 5 feet and is considered to be approachable and nonaggressive.
Rich Jurgens, owner of Maui Kayaks, said he was out with another group Friday when Corbat discovered the remains, and water safety officers ordered everyone out of the ocean around Makena.
People were understanding when the kayaking tours were cut short, Jurgens said. “They knew what it was,” he said. “They knew what we were doing and were very cooperative and very compassionate.”
Otherwise, he said, the conditions were ideal for diving and paddling along the South Maui coast.
“The conditions were incredible today,” Jurgens said. “The water was beautiful, the visibility was excellent, there were no waves, very minimal surf. It was a premium day to kayak.”
Some area residents, who gathered near Makena Landing to watch the search efforts Friday, said conditions had been good Thursday afternoon as well.
After talking to others who had been in the water in the area Friday, Jurgens said no one had seen anything unusual, although one diver reported seeing a white tip shark.
“No sharks were spotted in the area or near the area” where the remains were recovered, said acting Battalion Chief Jack Williams of the Maui Fire Department, which had rescue personnel aboard the Air One helicopter and in a rescue boat and doing surface dives in the search area.
Kihei ocean safety officers aboard personal watercraft also helped with the search.
At 11:30 a.m., rescue crews recovered additional remains with gear matching the description of what the missing diver was wearing, Williams said.
The search was suspended at 1:30 p.m.
An autopsy was scheduled for today, police said.
Last edited:
