A Bellingham woman is being mourned as a "true Earth angel" after her death in an apparent shark attack earlier this month while she was vacationing in Hawaii.
Kristine Allen, 60, vanished Thursday, Dec. 8, while snorkeling at a south Maui beach as a large shark was seen cruising the waters off Keawakapu Point, according to her husband Blake Allen. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources handled the incident.
A40-hour air and sea search involving the U.S. Coast Guard, the Maui Fire Department and ocean rescue teams was called off Dec. 9, the Coast Guard tweeted.
Department of Land and Natural Resources spokesman Dan Dennison called it a "possible shark-human encounter" at Dec. 9 news conference.
Allen, whose friends called "Kristi," was a massage therapist and life coach who lived with her husband Blake Allen off Chuckanut Drive south of Bellingham.
A memorial is planned in the future in Bellingham, according to her husband.
Kristi's friends left messages of grief on her public social media pages in the week following her disappearance.
In her last public Facebook post, Kristi told friends how much she was looking forward to her upcoming vacation.
"Following dreams!" she said. "I have wanted to learn to surf for years. I am committed to create a life I love in big and small ways."
Based on reports from her husband and other witnesses, just before noon on Thursday, a large shark was spotted about 50-yards off-shore at Keawakapu Point in south Maui. Blake Allen reported while the couple was snorkeling he saw a shark swim by but could not see his wife. The shark swam by several times before he returned to shore and reported his wife missing.
First responders used personal watercraft, a rescue boat, a helicopter, and a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft to search the area, beginning shortly after the initial 911 call. They continued their efforts until nightfall on Thursday and then resumed their search at daybreak this morning.
