Surfer Killed By Shark Was Former Orange County Student

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — A surfer killed Saturday in a shark attack off the Santa Cruz County coast has been identified as 26-year-old Ben Kelly, the Santa Cruz County coroner's office said in a statement.

Kelly, a former Orange County area student, died after a shark attack midday on Saturday while surfing at Manresa State Beach, about five miles west of Watsonville, the California Department of Parks and Recreation said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to his website, www.benkellysurfboards, he lived in Santa Cruz and surfed around the world when he wasn't shaping surfboards. He was self-taught, loved surfing, and helping others, according to the Ben Kelly Surfboards website.

He was a student and worked as a resident assistant at Vanguard University, according to a report from the Orange County Register.
"What started as a way to fuel my own surfing passion has now become a way to stoke out my fellow surfers, and that is truly fulfilling to me," Kelly wrote on his website. "It's the way I have found to give back to others.

According to reports, there were shark sightings in that area as recently as April 30. Shark warning signs were posted in the area, they said.
"Ben lived the life of his dreams," Jim Olson shared over Facebook. "Surfing can be someone's whole life... Ben died doing what he loved."

The beach in that area, closed from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, is now closed until Thursday following the attack, according to officials. The attack took place when the beaches were closed, according to reports.

The water one mile south and north of the incident location will remain closed until Thursday, May 14, 2020, State Parks said in a release.
Signs alerting beachgoers about the shark attack have also been posted. "State Parks expresses its deepest sympathy to the family of the victim," they wrote.

On May 5, a photographer shot drone footage of juvenile great white sharks offshore of Seacliff beach nearby.