Local News

Community stunned by loss of Lowell woman in shark attack

Lauren Erickson Van Wart was reportedly paddleboarding with her husband at a Sandals resort in the Bahamas when she was attacked by a shark.

People gather on the resort pier after the shark attack on Monday. Dante Carrer / Reuters

December 6, 2023

Those that knew 44-year-old Lauren Erickson Van Wart are grieving this week after the Lowell woman was killed by a shark while paddleboarding in the Bahamas.

Van Wart was identified Tuesday as the victim by the Royal Bahamas Police Force. She was paddleboarding with a “male relative” around 11:15 a.m. Monday in the waters of a resort on the west of New Providence when the attack occurred. New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas.

A lifeguard on duty responded in a rescue boat and brought both the man and the woman to shore while performing CPR. Van Wart suffered “significant trauma” to the right side of her body and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The attack happened at a Sandals Resort, WCVB reported. Van Wart was vacationing there with her husband of 13 years. Sandals said it was in close contact with Van Wart’s family in a statement to the station.

Van Wart worked as a math specialist for Curriculum Associates in Billerica, a company that provides tools and research for educators.

“Our team is heartbroken and grieving the loss of a dear and trusted colleague and friend. Lauren was a beloved member of our math editorial team, and she infused her deep dedication to students and educators into every material she touched,” Curriculum Associates CEO Rob Waldron said in a statement to the Globe. “Her commitment to excellence and outstanding work was driven by a higher purpose, focused on improving learning outcomes for all. Our Curriculum Associates community is mourning this tragedy and extends our deepest love and support to Lauren’s wonderful husband and all of her family.”

“It’s heartbreaking. It really is,” Beth Stack-Emerson, a neighbor in Lowell, told Boston 25 News. “Shocking, I mean these poor people, they probably looked forward to this vacation for months.”

The Bahamas is known as an international hub of shark activity. The country created the first shark sanctuary in the Atlantic Ocean in 2011. More than 40 shark species swim through the area, which spans approximately 243,000 square miles. The Bahamas is the “shark diving capital of the world,” according to the conservation-focused nonprofit WildAid, and shark tourism has been known to bring in more than $100 million a year for the Bahamian economy. Research has shown that the sanctuary does benefit and help conserve threatened species of shark.

Hammerheads, tiger sharks, and bull sharks are some of the more prominent species to live in the waters of the Bahamas, according to a shark diving guide published by Sandals. The guide advertises opportunities to swim safely around docile sharks in the waters of the Bahamas.

The shark that attacked Van Wart was larger than the rescue boat, and people heard screams from the shore, a travel agent visiting the resort said in a Facebook post. The attack left staff and guests “traumatized,” she added.