Woman's tragic Facebook post days before vanishing in shark attack
A woman mauled to death in a savage shark attack told Facebook friends that she was following her dreams just days before she disappeared in waters off Hawaii.
Kristine Allen was snorkelling with her husband, Blake Allen, in Maui on December 8 when he spotted an “aggressive” tiger shark. While it circled him, Mr Allen desperately scoured Keawakapu Point for his wife, but she couldn’t be found.
“He did spot something in the distance and then the shark came back and he could see something red around the shark’s gills,” the Department of Land and Natural Resources said. At that point, people on the beach began yelling at him to get out of the water because a shark was feeding in the area.
A 40-hour air and sea search involving the US Coast Guard and Maui Fire Department was eventually called off on December 9, despite Ms Allen’s body not being found.
Final words to Facebook followers
In a heartbreaking post on Facebook, Ms Allen’s final words to friends online have been revealed. “Following dreams,” the life coach from Washington state wrote on December 3, alongside a series of photos of her on a surfboard. “I have wanted to learn to surf for years.”
She went on to explain that she had been using surfing metaphors for a long time but had never tried to do it.
“Now that I have, the metaphors hold even deeper felt sense,” she said. “You paddle, paddle, paddle, then pop up. Ride the wave (hopefully) or fall off then paddle back for the next wave. Much like creating...Our dreams give us the motivation to keep getting back up to catch the next one even if we got tumbled.”
At the end of the post, Ms Allen expressed her gratitude to a local instructor in Hawaii. “Thank you Kainalu from Maui Surf and SUP!” she said. “You are the best! We loved our lesson and the joy of riding the wave.”
Condolences flow in for a 'beautiful lady'
Tributes have since poured in from family, friends and even strangers in the wake of the fatal attack.
“Kristi you’ll be missed,” a loved one wrote on Ms Allen’s Facebook post. “May you be hanging ten with Jesus and surfing the heavenly waves.”
“Blake and family, you are in my thoughts and prayers,” another said. “My heart breaks for you!”
While many locals also left condolences to family and friends that “Kristi was taken from you especially in this tragic way.”
“Having lived here for over 30 years, I can tell you that we go swimming there all the time and this is shocking to all of us,” one resident wrote.
Another said they had just arrived at the beach that day, as they do most days, when it happened. “I stood there and prayed for you and everyone involved,” they said. “I am so, so sorry for the loss of a beautiful lady.”
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