A man who vanished while swimming at a popular Australian beach is likely to have been the victim of a great white shark, police said Tuesday.
Bryn Martin, 64, was last seen early Monday morning in calm water on his regular daily swim off Cottesloe Beach in Perth. He was due to meet his family for breakfast but never turned up.
Police divers found his swimming trunks in the sea later in the day, and said the damage to them was consistent with a shark attack.
Local police official Neil Blair said the missing man's wife confirmed they were the type of trunks her husband had worn.
"Fisheries experts have viewed the bathers and were of the opinion the damage is consistent with what a white pointer shark could cause," he told reporters.
Martin's son Alastair said his father, a strong swimmer, was always involved in water sports and was aware of the dangers.
"He loved his morning swim and was aware and accepted the risks associated with ocean activities," he said.
"Yesterday we received news that any family would dread."
If confirmed, it would be the second fatal shark attack off Cottesloe in 11 years after a man was attacked in shallow water and died in 2000.
It also follows the death of a bodyboarder from a shark attack near Dunsborough, also in Western Australia, last month.
That incident was the first fatal shark attack in the country since February, when a man diving for abalone was savaged off South Australia, and only the fourth since December 2008.
