California swimmer goes missing after possible shark attack

A missing swimmer in California may have been the victim of a shark attack on Sunday.

A missing swimmer in California may have been the victim of a shark attack on Sunday.

According to a joint statement from the city of Pacific Grove, the city of Monterey and the U.S. Coast Guard, officials in the area were called to Lovers Point in Pacific Grove for reports of a missing swimmer just after noon on Sunday.

Two people who witnessed the event told officials that the missing person may have encountered a shark while swimming offshore, the statement said. The shark attack has not been confirmed, Coast Guard spokesperson Christopher Sappey told NBC News.

The first report of the potential shark attack came in from a person who was at a nearby stop sign while driving to work, Sappey said. That person reported seeing a shark breach the water with what appeared to be a human body in its mouth.

The shark then plunged beneath the waterline without resurfacing, the person reported, according to Sappey.