The remains of an Argentinian man who went missing near the ocean earlier this month were found inside a shark’s stomach.
Family members were able to identify him by a tattoo on his arm.
Thirty-two-year-old Diego Alejandro Barrίa was last seen alive on February 18 while driving his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) near the coast of Southern Chubut Province in Argentina.
The man did not return home that day and, a couple of days later, his damaged ATV was found on a Rocas Coloradas beach with his helmet nearby but no sign of Barrίa.
Argentinian authorities launched a thorough search for Barrίa, a father of three. His wife, Virginia Brugger, wrote a Facebook post thanking everyone involved in the search for her husband, begging them to bring him back to her.
Six days later, a heart-wrenching discovery was made by several fishermen. They were fishing near the place where the man’s ATV was discovered and caught three dogfish, which is a shark species. They called the coast guard and told them they had found human remains inside a shark’s stomach.
Police officer Daniela Millatruz, who was in charge of the search, said the remains were taken to a local morgue, where the family’s worst fears came true. Relatives identified the remains by the familiar tattoo on the arm, although authorities have to conduct DNA tests to confirm that the remains are indeed Barrίa’s.
A few hours before the gruesome discovery, a pair of sunglasses confirmed to be Barrίa’s were found on the beach.
The exact cause of his death is yet to be determined but Civil Protection spokesperson José Mazzei said the police have two hypotheses. The first theory was that Barrίa got injured before somehow ending up in the water, and the second was that he was knocked unconscious after his ATV accident and that strong tidal waves, which were reported in the area at the time of his disappearance, swept him into the sea.
