By Wendy Osher

***UPDATE: 7:40 a.m. 4/30/15, Maui Police have since confirmed the identity of the victim as Margaret C. Cruse, 65, of Kīhei, Maui. Police say despite lifesaving efforts, Cruse sustained fatal injuries consistent with a shark attack. The official cause of death is pending an autopsy report.



The state Department of Land and Natural Resources closed a section of shoreline near the surf spot known as “Dumps” due to a fatal shark encounter involving a female victim, authorities tell Maui Now.

The beach was closed at ʻĀhihi Kīnaʻu at around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 29, 2015, and state crews have since extended the closure to an area stretching from La Perouse Bay to Mākena State Park or “Big Beach.”

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Shortly before 9 a.m., firefighters received a call for an unresponsive female pulled from the water, said Maui Fire Services Officer Edward Taomoto.

According to department reports, Wailea firefighters arrived at 9:12 a.m. at the popular “Dumps” surf spot, about a mile south of Big Beach, at Mākena State Park. Paramedics and firefighters began lifesaving efforts; however, the woman, a 65-yr-old Kīhei resident, did not survive, said FSO Taomoto.

“Injuries found on the female victim’s upper torso, suggests she was attacked by a shark. So far, there are no reported witnesses of the shark attack. Snorkelers came upon the unresponsive female, floating face down in the water about 200 yards off-shore and pulled her from the water. The victim reportedly was snorkeling with two other friends and at some point separated from the others. She was alone when she was found,” said Taomoto in a department press release.

Ocean Safety crews on rescue watercraft cleared the water of swimmers.

The incident comes following two fatal shark incidents in 2013 that included: the fatal injury of 57-year-old Washington State visitor, Patrick A. Briney in December 2013; and the death of German visitor, Jana Lutteropp in August 2013 at Maui’s Palauea Beach in Mākena.

Confirmed shark bite incidents reported in Maui waters include the following encounters as documented by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources on their Hawaiʻi Sharks website:

***Please check back for details which will be posted as soon as they become available.