Historical reference record — not independently verified
Shark incident at Waimea Bay OʻAhu Hawaii USA, United States — March 1970
Original historical summary
The original reference is retained below. Supplementary source details appear in the fact panel; protected facts and unresolved differences remain unchanged.
A historical reference describes an event at Waimea Bay OʻAhu Hawaii USA, United States in 1970-03. Recorded activity: Body surfing / person lost at sea. Classification: Questionable. Outcome: Unknown.
Original reference details
- Location recorded in the historical reference: Waimea Bay OʻAhu Hawaii USA, United States.
- Date: 1970-03.
- Activity: Body surfing / person lost at sea.
- Classification: Questionable.
- Outcome: Unknown.
Source limitations and unresolved differences
- The retained evidence does not support a more precise outcome; it remains Unknown.
- No shark species identification is supported by the retained evidence.
- The date is intentionally shown with limited precision; no day is invented.
- A shark was reportedly seen nearby, but the surviving evidence does not establish that a shark caused the disappearance.
- This restoration uses a supplied historical summary citing the general GSAF incident log, not a case-level primary document. It has not been independently verified.
- Do not convert to a confirmed fatal shark attack; shark involvement remains unconfirmed.
- The supplied source lists 1970-03-31; the existing reviewed date is retained pending case-level reconciliation.
Fact panel
- Date
- March 1970
- Date precision
- Month
- Location
- Waimea Bay OʻAhu Hawaii USA, United States
- Country
- United States
- Activity
- Body surfing / person lost at sea
- Incident classification
- Questionable
- Area / state
- Hawaii
- Person / vessel
- Ernie Reathaford
- Sex
- M
- Injury / case note
- Swept out to sea; a 5.5 m (18 ft) shark was seen in the vicinity; body not recovered.
- Outcome
- Unknown
- Species
- Shark involvement prior to death was not confirmed
- Species confidence
- Reported
- Coordinate precision
- Region
Incident location
Waimea Bay, O'ahu, Hawaii, United States
Approximate area: Hawaii
The marker represents the named area, not the exact incident site.
The interactive map loads when it comes into view. Incident details remain available as text.
Location precision: Approximate area
Representative map position for Hawaii from Natural Earth. This marks the general area, not the exact incident site. This is historical location context, not live shark tracking or a measure of risk.
Sources and verification
- Historical incident log (general reference) — Global Shark Attack FileSupports: General reference cited by the supplied historical summary; not independently checked against a case-level record.
- Shark Data Lab case-level GSAF-derived record / Hawaii historical list — www.sharkdatalab.comSupports: Supplementary historical fields; existing reviewed facts retained
Shark incident records can change as investigations develop. This page shows the current verification status and was last restored from supplied historical reference material on 2026-09-04.
Historical facts retain the provenance and uncertainty of the cited references. Source timestamps record when the supplied material was imported, not an independent source retrieval or verification.
Supplementary content updated: 2026-09-24. This does not change the original verification status or review date.