Woman 'taken' by large shark in Australia

A 63-year-old woman is presumed to
have been "taken" by a large shark while
swimming off the coast of Australia Thursday,
police told CNN.
Christine Armstrong was swimming with a
group of friends off a beach in Tathra in New
South Wales when she complained and headed
back to shore, Police Inspector Jason Edmunds
said.
The rest of the group, including her husband,
later saw a shark, estimated to be about 11
feet long, swimming near them, causing them
to bunch together for safety.
They swam back to the beach club, but found
no trace that Armstrong made it back.
Edmunds said that another witness on some
nearby rocks spotted a large shark attacking
something in the water roughly 150 yards
offshore, which he believed to be a swimmer.
The popular beach is now closed for a safety
assessment, but an extensive search of the
area failed to find Armstrong or signs of the
shark.
"The community is in shock, and the husband
is taking it hard, as he has been with her since
they were kids," said Edmunds, noting that
sightings of large sharks are rare, and he
couldn't remember any other attack in the
area.
"Cancer, heart attacks -- those are all things
we fear but expect, but who gets taken by a
shark?"
It is believed the woman was a lifeguard
herself, according to a post on the Surf Life
Saving New South Wales website. The other
lifeguards she was swimming with are receiving
counseling, the post said.