FORT BRAGG, CALIFORNIA: The final wish of a diver before a shark violently attacked and bit off his head has been made public.
Randy Fry, a 50-year-old diver, lost his life after being viciously attacked by a shark while scuba diving off the coast of Fort Bragg in California with his lifelong friend Cliff Zimmerman.
Who was Randy Fry?
Randy Fry worked for the Recreational Fishing Alliance, a non-profit grassroots political advocacy group for saltwater sportfishermen and the recreational fishing sector.
Randy and Cliff had a special fondness for diving and submerging themselves in water. On this dive, they were looking for abalone, a prized large sea snail delicacy.
Sharks are known to frequent these waters, but the pair didn't seem to be bothered by their presence. Sadly, this dive ended with a terrible turn of events.
Cliff remembered clearly the moment when a fin suddenly appeared between himself and his companion as they dove into the water to begin their search for abalone.
What kind of shark killed Randy Fry?
A shark attacked Randy without warning. The attacker was thought to be a powerful 18-foot-long great white shark with the strength to tear even an experienced diver apart brutally. Sadly, Randy's body had been ripped apart, his head brutally severed from his torso, as reported by Mirror.
Describing the harrowing incident, Cliff recounted, "I heard a noise, like 'whoosh,' like a submarine, like a boat going by fast. It was a shark. He came for the kill. It was over in five seconds."
Randy had previously said that he wished his death would occur while he was doing what he loved, which added to the tragedy of the circumstance.
What Randy Fry's best friend wrote about him?
The heartbreaking statement was made public by a fellow fisherman who posted Randy's obituary on the Northern California Skin Divers Club website. He wrote, "Randy had said to Cliff many times: if he had to go, he wanted to go in the water."
The shark tore Randy's body apart underwater, but avoided biting into any of the diver's body. The following day, pieces of his body washed up on the shore; his head was found three weeks later.
Red, a fellow fisherman, pulled Cliff onto his boat and frantically called the coastguard for assistance as Randy's blood mixed with the water.
Red remembered the horrific scene and said, "When I saw the pool of blood spread across the surface of the water, I knew Randy was gone."
Cliff said, "It was the most dramatic thing I ever saw in my life. It's just not real. This monster came so fast, it happened so fast and was over so fast you think, 'How can this happen?' It was terrible. I almost had a heart attack myself. It could have been me."
