LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Three beaches in Southern California closed after a fatal shark attack have been reopened, officials said after reporting no new shark sightings.
Wall, Minuteman and Surf beaches in Santa Barbara County, all closed following Friday's attack, were reopened Monday after Vandenberg Air Force Base officials determined they were safe for visitors, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"During the three-day closure period, base conservation law enforcement officers increased patrols of the base beaches; there were no observed or reported shark sightings off of base beaches during the closure period," a statement from the base said.
Base officials said signs would be posted at the beaches reading: "Warning: recent shark attack -- swim, surf at your own risk."
In the Friday morning attack at Surf Beach, victim Lucas Ransom's left leg was severed and fire personnel from Vandenberg pronounced him dead at the scene.
The 19-year-old University of California, Santa Barbara, student and a friend were reportedly about 100 yards offshore when the attack occurred.
A shark expert said based on its behavior and Ransom's injury, the shark most likely was a great white.
"It takes a shark of massive size and jaw to inflict that kind of injury," Andrew Nosal of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography told the Times.
