Sheriff’s Office ends extended search for missing swimmer Erica Fox near Lovers Point.

It has been more than 20 hours of searching over three days for Erica Fox, co-founder of the Kelp Krawlers swimming group, who went missing after a suspected shark attack near Lovers Point on Sunday, Dec. 21.

Official search efforts were originally called off Monday evening around 4:45pm; however, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office continued its search until Tuesday evening, Dec. 23, to take advantage of favorable dive conditions.

Bedrock Ocean Exploration, a Port Richmond-based company that uses advanced robotics to map the ocean floor, volunteered to work alongside the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office dive team to continue searching, according to Sheriff's Office Cmdr. Andres Rosas. The group conducted more than six hours of seafloor mapping using an autonomous underwater vehicle, scanning several 1,000-by-500-yard areas in an effort to locate Fox.

Divers entered several areas identified by the equipment but were unsuccessful. Due to unstable weather forecasts predicting heavy rain, the sheriff’s office dive team announced at 4pm that it was suspending its efforts.

Fox, a highly trained swimmer who has led the Kelp Krawlers group for more than 20 years, was one of about 15 swimmers in the water Sunday alongside other recreationists. Just after noon, one swimmer who had already exited the water reported seeing what he believed to be a shark off the point. A man unaffiliated with the swimming group who was driving by called 911 to report a shark in the water.

Rainfall, high winds, thunderstorms and the potential for flooding are in the weather forecast this Christmas week. According to the marine forecast, beaches and ocean conditions will remain hazardous through the week. “Seas build through the week and will be very hazardous to mariners, with the potential for wave heights in excess of 20 feet,” according to the National Weather Service forecast.