Tomas Butterfield.Photo: facebook
Loved ones are mourning the loss of a mankilled in a California shark attackon Christmas Eve.
Tomas Butterfield, 42, of Sacramento, was identified as the victim of Friday’s attack in Morro Bay, a California State Parks spokesperson confirmed toTheSan Luis Obispo Tribune.
In a previous statement, police said they responded to a call Friday morning regardingan “unresponsive” male victimthat had been pulled from the water. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene just after 10:45 a.m. local time.
Butterfield’s uncle said in a phone interview withTheSan Luis Obispo Tribunethat his late nephew was a “great guy” with a passion for the ocean.
“I don’t want to call him shy,” Grant Butterfield told the paper. “He was kind of a tough guy to get to know, but once you were his friend, you had him.”
Grant told the newspaper that at the time of the incident, his nephew was visiting his mother in Morro Bay when he decided to go boogie boarding Christmas Eve morning.
Rebecca Frimmer, who was also out in the water at the time of the attack, told NBC/CW+ affiliateKSBYthat she helped pull Butterfield to shore after noticing his board floating in the water. The surfer told the outlet that he had already succumbed to his injuries at the time.
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Friends of Butterfield have also been paying tribute to the late Californian.
CJ Franke, who has been friends with Butterfield for over two decades, remembered him as a “good human being” and “one of a kind” while speaking with theSan Luis Obispo Tribune.
Fellow pal Corrie Ratzat wrote in a social media post that he was “a great guy” who died doing what he loved," per the outlet.
“He was a water guy,” she wrote. “In the ocean here, in the pool, or on a boat up in Alaska. It’s what Tom loved. He wasn’t a random tourist who didn’t know how to navigate the water. Tom’s family is solid in their faith. They know Tom is in a good place.”
Beachgoers were prohibited from entering the water near where the attack occurred for the 24 hours following the incident, the Morro Bay Police Department said in a statement on Friday.
source: people.com
