Little Bay shark attack: Police continue search as victim’s family prepare to fly to Australia

Police officers have been spotted searching for remains at Little Bay, as the community continues to grapple with Wednesday’s tragic fatal shark attack. See today’s pictures.

Police have returned to the shore of Little Bay in Sydney’s south-east, the scene of Wednesday’s gruesome fatal shark attack.

Officers were spotted searching for remains along the rocky strip of coastline at dawn, as swimmers returned to the water on the second morning since Randwick’s beaches reopened.

Police officers returned to Little Bay at dawn. Picture: Julian Andrews

Avid scuba diver Simon Nellist was killed by a shark off Buchan Point this week. Picture: Julian Andrews

Members of the local community mourning victim Simon Nellist’s death left dozens of floral tributes and messages of love for the diver along the gates at the beach’s entrance.

Flowers adorn the fence near the site of the deadly attack. Picture: Julian Andrews

The tributes included sorrowful messages and flickering candles. Picture: Julian Andrews

In the Little Bay community, the Coast Chapel has invited those struggling with Mr Nellist’s death to join a “quiet reflection” from 6pm on Saturday.

“Everyone in Randwick City community has been moved by this week’s tragedy,” the church said in a statement.

Early morning swimmers were back in the water as the community grieves the tragic loss. Picture: Julian Andrews

Shark attack victim’s family to fly to Australia

The fiancee of Sydney’s shark attack victim is yet to return home to her Wolli Creek unit, and his family said to be “in bits” following his death.

Experienced diver and ocean-lover Simon Nellist was mauled to death by a great white shark as he trained for a charity ocean swim on Wednesday afternoon.

He was just 150m away from the beach at Buchan Point, near Little Bay, when the predator struck in what was the first fatal attack in the area in nearly 60 years.

Simon Nellist and Jessie Ho, eating fish and chips at the beach.

Mr Nellist’s death has sent shockwaves around the world, with his aunt Jacqui Seager telling The Sun Newspaper his mum is “in bits” and the family are planning to fly out to Australia soon.

Friends have revealed Mr Nellist’s fiancee Jessie Ho is “heartbroken and in shock” following his death. The pair were supposed to have married last year, until Covid postponed their nuptials.

“She’s struggling, we all are,” a friend of the couple said.

Floral tributes have been left on a pathway leading to Little Bay beach. Picture: Richard Dobson

Mr Nellist, an ex-UK Royal Air Force (RAF) serviceman, was remembered by friend Emily Outram as a “gentleman” and a “brave soldier”, who had done several tours.

“He was rare, salt of the earth, lived life to the max … his heart was wholesome,” she said.

“I can’t stop thinking about him, his family, the love of his life Jessie and the pain they are feeling.”

Ms Outram told The Saturday Telegraph she met Mr Nellist almost 20 years ago in his home town of Penzance, in England’s southwest, where he was working in the kitchen at the Queen’s Hotel before he joined the army.

“The last time I saw him in person was three years ago when he was visiting home (from Australia),” she said.

“If I knew that would be the last time I’d ever see him, I would have hugged him a little longer.”

Notes from local children at Coast Chapel. Picture: Richard Dobson

In a post to his Facebook page last year, Mr Nellist reflected on his time in the army, and some of the children he met in Afghanistan.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about the children of Afghanistan recently,” he wrote.

“They were so nice. Just good-hearted kids who had nothing.

“We made friends, played music and shared food. They were just kids. I hope they are OK.

“If they manage to escape I hope we can look after as many of them as possible.”

Obsessed with nature — and particularly the ocean — Mr Nellist was an instructor at the Sydney-based Scubathlon social diving club, and had travelled to several tropical locations across the globe to dive with the club, and his fiancee.

In one of his diving videos shared to Facebook, he noted there were “lots of sharks today at Bushrangers Bay” in Shellharbour.

“We counted around 10 grey nurse sharks. Saw an eagle ray at the (dive site),” he captioned the video.

Mr Nellist was well aware of the potential dangers of the ocean, having spent so much of his time in it, and was firmly against techniques used to keep sharks out of swimming areas.

“Shark nets and drumlines protect no one and kill all kinds of marine life each year,” he posted on Facebook six months ago.

Vincent Gu also reflected on his neighbour’s kind heart, recounting that Mr Nellist had rescued a young kitten that had been abandoned in a stairwell on their street in 2019.

“He was an animal lover,” Mr Gu said.

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Originally published as Little Bay shark attack: Police continue search as victim’s family prepare to fly to Australia