Eyewitnesses said they saw a shark holding a human body in its jaws before disappearing beneath the surface

The body of triathlete Erica Fox has been recovered off the California coast a week after she disappeared during a shark attack.

Her remains were discovered on Saturday afternoon near Davenport Beach in Santa Cruz, still dressed in her black wetsuit.

The 55-year-old was found roughly 25 miles from the location where she vanished.

Ms Fox had been swimming with her husband Jean-Francis Vanreusel when the attack happened on December 21.

The couple had been married for three decades.

Her husband confirmed the discovery of her body – and spoke of his profound grief at losing his wife.

Mr Vanreusel had been swimming approximately one hundred yards behind his wife, alongside 13 other members of a local swimming club.

Witnesses reported seeing a shark holding a human body in its jaws before disappearing beneath the surface, according to Coast Guard officials.

Erica Fox (pictured) had been swimming with her husband Jean-Francis Vanreusel when the attack happened on December 21 | FACEBOOK/ERICA FOX

Ms Fox was discovered still wearing an electromagnetic “shark band” around her ankle, a device designed to repel sharks.

“She didn’t want to live in fear,” Mr Vanreusel told Mercury News during a memorial procession along the coastline on Sunday.

“She lived her life fully.”

Dozens of members of the Kelp Krawlers club joined the procession, marking her final mile-long swim.

Local police had called off their search efforts last Monday – but divers had persisted in a bid to try and find the triathlete in the days that followed | MONTEREY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Ms Fox’s death marks only the second fatal shark attack at Lovers Point in 73 years.

The previous fatality occurred in December 1952 when a 17-year-old boy was killed.

And December’s tragedy also represents the second attack on a member of the Kelp Krawlers, a swimming club Ms Fox helped establish.

Fellow member Steve Bruemmer was bitten on the leg three and a half years ago, surviving only after nearby paddle boarders came to his rescue.

PICTURED: Police divers wade into the sea off Lovers Point. Ms Fox’s death marks only the second fatal shark attack in the area in more than 70 years | MONTEREY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

“Will people get back in the ocean? Will they get back in the ocean, but not here?” said Sharen Carey, a club member for over a decade.

“I don’t think anyone knows at the moment, because I think we’re all just still in shock, disbelief and grief, not knowing what we need to do next, except to love and support each other,” Ms Carey added.

Local police had called off their search efforts last Monday – but divers had persisted in a bid to try and find the triathlete in the days that followed.

Private firm Bedrock Ocean Exploration volunteered to work alongside the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office dive team and carried out six hours of Sonar sea floor mapping over a 1000 by 500-yard area.