The family of a missing surfer attacked by shark have broken their silence amid fears his body may never be found.
Steven Payne, 37, was five weeks into a six-month trip around Australia when he stopped for a surf at Wharton Beach, Western Australia, on Monday.
The Melbourne man was surfing in waist-deep water only 50metres from shore when beachgoers first heard screams.
Mr Payne was seen to be in distress following earlier reports of a shark in the vicinity of the remote beach 60km east of Esperance.
His distraught girlfriend along with other beachgoers watched the tragic scene unfold, before Mr Payne’s surfboard was discovered floating nearby with evidence of bite marks.
‘There was only a surfboard left floating around about 30m from the shore,’ a bystander told 9News.
‘The water next to it was dark, with a shark’s fin circling around.’
His brother told ABC the family no longer believes Mr Payne will be found.
Drone footage captured the moment Steven Payne was attacked by a shark at Wharton Beach
Esperance police Senior Sergeant Taylor said the rescue mission had since become a recovery mission
Authorities arrived at the remote beach at 12.10pm on Monday, before closing the beach to commence a search.
The rescue operation soon became a recovery mission when a member of the public shared footage with police of the surfer being taken by the shark.
‘I don’t think there’s much point in utilising all the resources that we have at the moment too much longer,’ Esperance police Senior Sergeant Taylor said on Tuesday.
‘There was a lot of blood, the shark, and some other things that I don’t think any others need to see.’
He added that Mr Payne’s girlfriend was ‘distraught’.
‘Her life was turned upside down yesterday.
‘You can imagine how she is, it’s just horrible.’
Mr Payne was five weeks into a six-month trip around Australia when he and his girlfriend visited Wharton Beach
Wharton Beach is expected to soon be reopened to the public following a large-scale search
Mr Payne’s family is believed to be on their way to the beach which, police said, will likely be reopened to the public on Wednesday.
Witnesses described seeing a ‘massive shark’ launching itself at the surfer in chest-deep waters some 50 metres from shore.
An unidentified species of shark was detected off the Wharton Beach shoreline within minutes of the attack on monitoring website SharkSmart.
The same stretch of the Esperance coastline, a favourite haunt for snorkellers and surfers, has recorded three fatal shark attacks in eight years.
In 2017, 17-year-old surfer Laeticia Brouwer died after being bitten by a white shark at nearby Kelp Beds.
Surfer Andrew Sharpe, 52, was surfing with seven friends at Kelp Beds in 2020 when a shark bit his leg.
He was soon pulled under by the shark before he could be rescued.
Earlier that year, diver Gary Johnson was killed while diving with his wife off Devil Rocks, Esperance.
Esperance Shire President Ron Chambers told ABC Radio Perth each new attack brings with it the painful memory of many others.
‘The community’s been here before, they’ll wrap around each other and make sure they take care of each other,’ said Mr Chambers.
‘We’ve got absolutely fantastic beaches, and we get a lot of people down here who visit them.
‘It is really sad that something like this has happened on that particular beach.’
