Fire rescue crews say tiger sharks are hampering their search for a missing surfer on Oahu's North Shore. They believe they spotted the California man's body off Papailoa Point Wednesday morning, but several sharks in the area prevented them from getting a closer look.
The fire department's chopper returned to the waters off Laniakea Beach at first light Wednesday for what authorities are calling a body recovery mission, not a rescue.
Lifeguards posted shark warning signs on the beach, but people continued to hit the surf without much hesitation.
"If the helicopter was hovering more off Laniakea, they probably see a lot of shark sightings," Hank Foto, surfer from Waialua, said. "But I didn't see it so I wasn't too worried about it."
A visitor from California, identified by sources as Sam Zhoum, 35, vanished in these waters Tuesday afternoon. Fire officials say their crews may have first spotted the body at about 7:15 Tuesday night, but ocean conditions and increasing darkness hampered their efforts to get to it.
