Shattered wife of man killed by shark describes husband as ‘wonderful’, says ‘rest in peace’

The shattered wife of a 57-year-old man taken by a shark in a ‘horrific’ attack off Perth’s coast has bid farewell to her partner of 35 years.

The heartbroken wife of a 57-year-old man taken by a shark in a “horrific” attack off Perth’s coast has bid farewell to her partner of 35 years, describing him as “a lovely man and a great father”.

Emergency services were called to Port Beach at North Fremantle just after 10am on Saturday after reports of the attack on Paul Millachip, which was witnessed by several people including four teenage boys who raced along the shoreline in their dinghy, shouting at people to get out of the water, then rushed ashore to warn other beachgoers.

Mr Millachip’s wife spoke at a press conference on Sunday afternoon when police announced the search had been suspended.

A pair of goggles was all that had been found.

She did not want her first name released and started by thanking all of the agencies involved in the desperate search and the eyewitnesses, especially the boys.

“It must have been an absolutely terrifying experience for them, so my heart goes out to them,” she said, her voice wavering.

“I thank them for what they did.

“Amazing. They could potentially have saved other lives.”

She then thanked friends for their love and support, which was especially appreciated given the couple’s families were in the UK.

“It’s hard because they may not be able to travel here to be with us,” she said.

“And finally, rest in peace Paul.

“He died doing what he enjoyed doing the most, which was exercising.”

Then, remarkably and bravely, she answered questions.

“We had been going down to the beach two or three times a week - we would go running first and then go swimming.

“He was due to swim for 1km on Saturday - I just went into the water and out again because it was cold and I’m not a huge fan of the cold water.”

Mr Millachip was a regular at the popular beach, and his wife and two adult children were there at the time of the attack.

“I was ... where the change rooms are,” she said.

The man’s body is yet to be found. Credit: 9 News

Mr Millachip was also a cyclist and did triathlons and marathons.

“He’d done six Iron Men down at Busselton, so he was fit and healthy.”

She described the situation their family was grappling with as “very hard” and her husband as “a lovely man and a great father”.

“He was a wonderful man, a wonderful father, and he loved his exercise,” she said.

“It came out of the blue but it did happen - we just have to deal with it.”

An air and sea search for any trace of the man was scaled back after dark on Saturday and resumed at first light on Sunday but by 3.30pm had been called off.

WA Police Fremantle district office acting inspector Troy Douglas said the search had been thorough and would only resume if there was “reason”.

“Inquiries will continue based on anything washed up or anything found,” he said.

Goggles found on Saturday have been swabbed in a bid to confirm who they belonged to but Inspector Douglas said they were believed to be Mr Millachip’s.

Earlier, Fisheries Minister Don Punch extended his sympathy to the family family, saying they were “going through a lot of grief “.

“It’s a time of immense sadness - certainly I know that the people who are out there searching today are feeling the weight of that sadness.”

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan described the tragedy as “horrific” and very sad.

“A family is now grieving, a man has lost his life — it’s a sad situation for everyone involved,” Mr McGowan said.

The Labor leader, minister and police also praised the efforts of teenage boys.

“They actually quite vividly saw what was going on in the water,” Inspector Douglas said.

“It’s a fantastic effort. It was probably something you don’t want to see. They reacted really, really well.”

Mr Punch said “it would have been a horrific thing” for the teens to see “but they didn’t flinch”.

“They tried to protect swimmers in the water and I think they’ve been very brave young people,” he said.

“We can be proud of the actions that they took.”

Water Police, Marine Rescue WA and Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development vessels scoured waters along with Surf Life Saving WA jet skis. Credit: 9 News

Kaiden Boult told The West Australian he and his friends had been surfing when the boys screamed at them to get out of the water.

“We scurried out on to the rocks (and went) to get a look from a high vantage point. As soon as we did we saw a massive shark out there,” he said.

“Next thing you know there’s cops and paramedics coming out of everywhere, and they cordoned it off and said it was a crime scene.”

Mr McGowan said he hoped the man’s body would be found.

Beaches remain closed from North Mole through to North Cottesloe until at least 7pm WST.

Flowers have been laid on the dunes near where the attack took place.

Inspector Douglas said police would support the man’s family “as best we can”.

The attack happened 21 years to the day after businessman and father of three Ken Crew, 49, died metres from the shore at nearby Cottesloe beach.

The last time someone died after a shark attack in Perth metropolitan waters was in June 2016 when Edith Cowan University nursing lecturer Doreen Collyer was savaged by a large great white while diving off Mindarie.

In November last year, hotel worker Charles Cernobori was fatally mauled by a suspected bull shark at Broome’s Cable Beach in WA’s Kimberley Region.