Verity Turner says arm in shark belongs to husband Richard Martyn Turner
A woman has confirmed that an arm found inside a tiger shark caught at Reunion Island is that of her husband after recognising his wedding ring.
Animals
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A Brit who was eaten by a shark has been pictured for the first time after his wife forced to identify him by his arm and wedding ring found inside the predator.
The Sun reports the 44-year-old man, Richard Martyn Turner, was snorkelling on the Island of Reunion by himself when he vanished in an area where four sharks were later caught.
He was reported missing by his wife Verity on Sunday and the grizzly remains of the hand were found inside the stomach of a three-metre tiger shark after they were brought ashore.
She told police in the Indian Ocean paradise of Reunion Island she recognised a ring on the finger as belonging to her missing husband.
The couple were staying in the exclusive five star Lux Hotel on St Gilles and had arrived last week to celebrate Verity’s 40th birthday.
Yesterday a police source on the island told The Sun: “The hand and forearm of a man was found inside the stomach of one of the captured tiger sharks.
All four were around three to four metres long.
“The woman identified the ring as belonging to her husband but the DNA tests will officially confirm if it is the missing man. Further investigations will be carried out on the sharks and the contents of their stomachs examined.
“The sharks were caught because they were swimming way out of their natural habitat. They were in the lagoon area which is shark free because of the coral but they somehow managed to find a way in.
“They were taken to the shark research centre where the autopsy was carried out and the human remains found.
“At this stage we don’t know if the man drowned and was then attacked or if he was attacked while swimming.’’
The couple were staying in the exclusive five star Lux Hotel on St Gilles and had arrived last week to celebrate Verity’s birthday.
A police helicopter was called in for the search on Saturday but no trace could be found of him.
The couple were originally from the north west of England but had moved to Scotland 15 years ago.
Friends who worked with him at Scotland’s land registry have said he was a “kind” and a “very English eccentric”.
Turner worked for the Scottish civil service in Edinburgh and his wife was employed at a local events company.
Shark attacks are common in Reunion and since 2011 there have been 27 with 11 proving fatal.
The island is classed as French department and last month during a visit President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would double financial assistance to two million euros to help prevent shark attacks.
Last night the Foreign Office said: “We are providing support to the family of a British man who died while snorkelling in La Réunion and are in contact with the local authorities.”
This article originally appeared in The Sun and is republished here with permission