Heard in the local news in Houston that a woman's body parts were washed ashore in Cozumel. It is beleived that she was diving about 200 miles
(I guess East) of the island and was attacked by sharks. I would think
it takes several days for something to wash ashore from 200 miles. It happened during a night dive. I believe all night dives have been
cancelled and only "close" to shore dives are allowed.
Does anyone on the net have more info. Please help there are a lot of
us going to Cozumel in the next few weeks and I am sure we all would like some peace of mind. Thank you.
On Wednesday, June 16, 1993 1:45:06 PM UTC-5, Noel D. Addy wrote:of this before but I never knew what happen bit by bit but now I do and its heart breaking. even though I've never met her in my life I still love her and miss her. R.I.P Mary Love you never forgotten I'll see you someday!(:
Okay. I'll take a shot at uploading the entire file, but it may
not work. You saw it here strictly without permission.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, June 15, 1993
June 15, 1993, Tuesday, HOME FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A
Hello my name is Amber, this is my first time reading this and you know its sad because this is my grandmother and my uncle was the student there my dad has told me parts
LENGTH: 861 words
HEADLINE: Allen woman dies in possible shark attack Body of youth corps
official found at Mexican resort after she disappeared during dive
BYLINE: Todd J. Gillman, Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
BODY:
Mary Eggemeyer, head of the Dallas Youth Services Corps, died in a possible
shark attack last week during a diving trip to Mexico.
Ms. Eggemeyer, 42, of Allen disappeared during a night dive Friday 200 meters
offshore at Cozumel, a resort island south of Cancun. Her mutilated body washed
onto a beach Saturday.
If confirmed as a shark attack, it would be the first at Cozumel since
record-keeping began this century. The area is popular with divers, and shark
sightings are rare.
"No one saw a shark. The only indication we have of a shark is the
nature of the wounds,' said Bryan Wilson, a spokesman for the Cozumel mayor.
"It's a real tragedy, and it's not anything that any of us ever imagined in
our worst nightmare,' said Hugh Robinson, chairman of the services corps, which
teaches job skills to young adults. "We will obviously continue on. We would
not do any less because that's what Mary would want.'
Ms. Eggemeyer was on the weeklong trip with six students and five parents and
teachers of the Winston School, where one of her three children was a student.
She is a former board member of the Dallas school, which serves 150 students
with dyslexia and attention-deficit disorder.
The trip was not officially sanctioned but has become an annual ritual, said
Rita Sherbenou, head of the Winston School. "We're a very close group of
people,' Dr. Sherbenou said. "It's so tragic. She was such a dynamic woman
that has given so much to the Dallas community.'
Ms. Eggemeyer and the others in her group, along with an American instructor
and a local guide, were making their second dive at a popular site known as
Santa Rosa Shallows, where divers descend to a sandy shelf.
The excursion started about 6 p.m. Friday. Ms. Eggemeyer disappeared in the
dark about 7:30 p.m.
"The dive plan was to go to a depth of 60 feet for 40 minutes,' Mr. Wilson
said.
Ms. Eggemeyer was the last diver to enter the water. By then, she had
drifted slightly past the ledge, where the sea floor drops off.
The American instructor reported that -- as he returned another wayward diver
to the boat -- he saw Ms. Eggemeyer swimming without difficulty back to the
ledge.
But within moments, Mr. Wilson said, "The local dive guide came to surface
saying he saw a dive light going over the ledge very fast.'
After a head count found Ms. Eggemeyer missing, eight vessels in the area
joined a search that continued until early the next morning.
"Mary was an experienced diver. She had been to Cozumel five times, and this
was her fourth dive on this trip,' Mr. Wilson said.
Her remains were found floating near a beach Saturday morning about 8:30, Mr.
Wilson said.
"Her body had been mutilated, both legs cut off at the buttocks area. The
left arm was missing, and there was severe damage to the abdominal cavity,' he
said.
The local coroner "believes that a large predator was involved.' Funeral
arrangements are pending an autopsy in Mexico.
It was "very likely' a shark, said George Burgess, a senior biologist at
the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville and director of the
International Shark Attack File, which documents shark attacks worldwide,
dating to the 1700s.
Mr. Burgess will be in Cozumel on Tuesday to help Mexican authorities.
Mayor German Garcia Padilla has ordered temporary suspension of night dives
but has not closed the beaches, Mr. Wilson said.
The Mexican navy and local dive operators have been patrolling a stretch of
beach on the west side of the island.
Along with police and sailors on shore, they are warning bathers to stay
within 50 meters of land.
The hunt involving five boats with experienced Mexican shark fishermen
aboard will center on the Santa Rosa Shallows.
"According to the experts, if he's fed there once, he'll probably come back
and feed there again,' Mr. Wilson said.
"Our intention is not to go out and start slaughtering sharks wholesale,'
he said. "We're looking for one particular shark.'
Because shark sightings are extremely rare in those waters, "it is a
logical assumption' that any shark in the area is a killer, he said.
Mr. Burgess dismissed the theory raised after some recent attacks in
Australia that population pressures are forcing sharks closer to shore than
usual.
" Shark attacks are a natural phenomenon that occur irregularly,' he said.
Officials in Cozumel, which has 60,000 full-time residents and 3,500 hotel
beds, said they want to investigate swiftly to quell tourists' fears.
Ed Fjordbak, president of the Communities Foundation of Texas, where Ms.
Eggemeyer worked until the youth corps was formed three years ago, said Ms.
Eggemeyer left a substantial legacy.
"Through this project, several hundred kids now have jobs and opportunities.
. . . It's a great loss to the community.'
The corps helps inner-city youths ages 18 to 23. The youths construct trails
through city parks or rehabilitate buildings for use by seniors, the disabled or
other service groups.
"Mary lived her life by that,' said a longtime friend and colleague, Kimberly
Floyd. "She's really carried the baton in our community for young people who
fell through the cracks.'
GRAPHIC: PHOTO(S): Mary Eggemeyer . . . disappeared while diving Friday. MAP(S):
POSSIBLE shark attack. (DMN)
Hello, My name is Shirli Turner, Mary Eggemyer was my sister. I would very much like to see the report on her death. I have been in a terrible place since she died and have never been able to put this behind me. I have watched her kids grow up and havefamilies of their own, I know she would have given anything to be able to see them happy and get to know her grandchildren. I have wondered and cried over this for many years and just want the answers to why and how it happened. Thank you. My email is
I was on the boat that night and was the last diver out of the water.
I was an "unofficial diver" on the private charter from the Dallas
group as my brother-in-law and I were invited at the last moment
by my other brother-in-law who WAS part of the group of Dallas
teachers and education executives. If I can add any information
feel free to email. Tom Mersch
Tom Mersch wrote:
I was on the boat that night and was the last diver out of the water.
I was an "unofficial diver" on the private charter from the Dallas
group as my brother-in-law and I were invited at the last moment
by my other brother-in-law who WAS part of the group of Dallas
teachers and education executives. If I can add any information
feel free to email. Tom Mersch
Did anyone die?
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