The Boston newlywed who died after being attacked by a shark while vacationing with her new husband a day after their dreamy Bahamas wedding has been identified as Lauren Erickson Van Wart.
In a press release published to Facebook by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, law enforcement named Lauren Erickson Van Wart as the individual involved.
Lauren was 44 years and from Boston, Massachusetts.
Lauren Van Wart worked as a math editor at Curriculum Associates.
It stated that the investigation is ongoing, and no further information was immediately available.
What happened?
Lauren Erickson Van Wart was paddleboarding off the coast of the five-star Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort with her new spouse Monday morning when she was fatally mauled by the predator.
A lifeguard spotted the woman in distress and rushed to help.
They attempted CPR, but the attack had severely injured the woman’s right hip and upper limb, with attempts to revive her unsuccessful.
People enjoying the nearby beach are said to have heard screams as the horror unfolded, vacationer Debra DeWeese revealed.
Grim photos and video shared afterwards showed the victim’s covered body being brought back to the beach on a gurney, before being loaded into an ambulance.
Royal Bahamian Police Sergeant Desiree Ferguson told reporters: ‘Shortly after 11:15 a.m. police were notified that a female visitor from Boston, Massachusetts, USA was attacked by a shark.
‘According to our initial reports, the female along, with a male relative were paddle boarding just at the rear of a resort in Western New Providence, some 3/4 miles out from the shoreline when she was bitten by the shark.
‘A lifeguard on duty who saw what was happening went out in a rescue boat, retrieved the victim, along with the male relative and brought them to safety CPR was administered to the victim.
‘However she suffered serious injuries to the right side of her body, including the right hip region and also her right upper limb.
‘Emergency Medical Services responded to this scene they thoroughly assessed the victim and they declared that she show she showed no vital signs of life.’
She added that it took a couple of hours to pull the woman in, before they took a wheelchair out to gather the man believed to be her husband.
‘I can’t imagine what the husband is going through,’ DeWeese – who was on a day pass from a cruise – added in a Facebook post.