Forensic pathologist Dr. Anthony Manoukian, the Maui County coroner’s physician who conducted a two-hour autopsy of the man’s remains on Saturday, said, “There was no clear indication that he was alive at the time he was bitten.”
“He possibly might have been dead when bitten,” he said, adding that he was uncertain whether that could be determined.
Manoukian said an organ from the lower portion of the man’s body was found to have blood in it, suggested the victim did not die of massive bleeding. Other possible causes of death include drowning or a heart attack, Manoukian said.
“Those would be the two highest probabilities on the list,” he said.
Manoukian said the pattern of injuries on soft tissue and bone was consistent with shark bites.
A positive identification of the man had not been made as of Saturday, and further testing will be done, said Lt. Glenn Cuomo of the Maui Police Department.
Cuomo said police believe the victim is Anthony Moore of San Jose, Calif., a 45-year-old free diver who reportedly ventured out alone from Makena Landing at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The visitor’s wife reported Moore missing at 6:58 p.m. Thursday when he didn’t return to a Kihei condominium where they had been staying. A search by foot and from the air on Thursday evening failed to find Moore. The search was suspended at 11:15 p.m. Thursday and resumed at 6:15 a.m. Friday.
Later Friday morning, a kayaker reported finding human remains 250 yards offshore from Makena in an area known as “Five Graves.” Crew members from a Maui Dive Shop boat that had been in the area picked up the remains. At 11:30 a.m. Friday, rescue crews recovered additional remains with gear matching the description of what the missing diver had been wearing.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael De Nyse said the man’s wife identified a lanyard and keys found on the remains.
De Nyse said Moore was a well-conditioned, athletic man who had taken up free diving and was trying to reach a depth of 100 feet at the dive site using a snorkel and regular swim fins during his Thursday evening dive.
Drowning is more of a threat to divers than shark attacks, said Carlos Eyles, who has been free diving for more than 50 years and works as an underwater photographer.
“Like everything else, it can be dangerous, but it doesn’t have to be,” he said. “The real danger in it is that people don’t understand their limitations and they exceed them. And if you’re diving alone and you exceed your limitations, you’re asking for trouble.”
Following the discovery of the remains Friday morning, state officials closed a stretch of shoreline from Black Sand Beach in Makena to the area fronting the Fairmont Kea Lani. All South Maui shoreline areas were reopened as of noon Saturday.