Lauren Erickson Van Wart, a 44-year-old newlywed woman from Boston, Massachusetts, was killed in a shark attack while paddle boarding near New Providence Island, Bahamas, on December 5, 2023. The incident occurred less than a mile off the western end of the island.
Erickson Van Wart, who worked as a principal editor at Curriculum Associates, a Massachusetts-based educational resource company, was paddle boarding with her husband near the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort in Cable Beach when the attack happened.
According to eyewitness accounts, Erickson Van Wart and her spouse were approximately three-quarters of a mile from shore, enjoying their time in the water, when a shark attacked, dragging her underwater.
A resort lifeguard witnessed the attack and promptly responded, rescuing both Erickson Van Wart and her husband from the water. Despite the lifeguard’s efforts to perform CPR, Erickson Van Wart had suffered significant trauma to her right side, including her right hip and arm, and showed no vital signs. She was pronounced dead at the scene around 11:15 a.m.
Erickson Van Wart was remembered by her neighbors, colleagues, and employer as a kind and neighborly person, dedicated to her work as a math specialist.
The Royal Bahamas Police are conducting investigations into the incident. This attack is part of a string of recent shark attacks reported in the Bahamas and other Caribbean countries. However, shark attacks are considered rare in the Bahamas, with this incident being one of the few fatal attacks in the region.
Local experts noted that the waters around the Bahamas are home to several large shark species, and attacks often occur when sharks mistake humans for their usual prey. This incident follows two weeks after a German woman went missing following a reported shark encounter during diving in the Bahamas. Additionally, in 2021, a man from Pennsylvania was killed by a shark in the northern Bahamas.
Fatal shark attacks are rare globally, averaging five to six deaths per year. The odds of being fatally attacked by a shark are less than 1 in 4 million. Shark bites often involve cases of mistaken identity, particularly in waters with low visibility.
The resort where Erickson Van Wart was staying expressed their condolences to her family over the incident.