The remains of a man who disappeared earlier this month appear to have been found inside a shark.
Diego Barria, a 32-year-old father of three, was last seen riding his all-terrain vehicle near the coast of Argentina’s southern Chubut province on 18 February.
Early on Sunday morning, two fishermen reported to the local coastguard that they had caught three school sharks close to where Mr Barria’s vehicle had been found.
Daniela Millatruz, the law enforcement officer who was in charge of the search for him, told local media that the fishermen had said “when they were cleaning [the sharks] they found human remains in one of them”.
Mr Barria’s family recognised him “due to a tattoo that appeared in one of those remains”, she added, although they will also undergo DNA testing to confirm his identity.
It is not clear what happened but investigations continue – Mr Barria’s damaged vehicle was found on a beach near Rocas Coloradas two days after he disappeared.
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Ms Millatruz said: “We presume Diego had an accident and we are investigating if there was a vehicle involved.”
Cristian Ansaldo, who heads the police department in the city of Comodoro Rivadavia, said the shark was about 1.5m long and it is likely Mr Barria “had an accident and was dragged”.
He said there had been a strong tidal surge on the weekend Mr Barria had disappeared.
