Dante Carrer/Reuters
Authorities have identified the 44-year-old Massachusetts woman who died in a shark attack near a beach resort in the Bahamas on Monday.
Lauren Erickson Van Wart, of Lowell, was paddleboarding close to the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort in New Providence when the shark struck, police said. Her mother-in-law told WCVB-TV that she was on vacation with her husband of 13 years, Ernest, when the tragedy took place.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force said that initial reports suggested that Van Wart was paddleboarding “along with a male relative” at the time she was bitten. A lifeguard who witnessed the attack rushed to the couple’s aid on a rescue boat, authorities say.