The remains of an Argentinian man who vanished earlier this month have reportedly been found inside a shark, according to family members who allegedly identified his arm tattoo.
Diego Alejandro Barría, 35, had reportedly last been seen alive on Feb. 18 driving his all-terrain vehicle along the coast in southern Chubut province, Jam Press reported.
Two days later, the off-roader’s heavily damaged ride and helmet were discovered on a beach in Rocas Coloradas, however, there was reportedly no sign of the driver.
Shortly thereafter, authorities launched an intensive search for the missing father of three. “Thanks to everyone who is helping in the search for Diego and praying for him,” the MIA man’s partner Virginia Brugger wrote in a heartrending Facebook post at the time. “Don’t leave him alone, bring me Diego.”
It wasn’t until a whopping six days later that authorities uncovered a grisly lead. Several fishermen who’d been fishing near where Barría’s ATV was found alerted the coastguard that they’d caught a dogfish — a species of schooling shark — with “human remains” inside it, according to police spokeswoman Daniela Millatruz, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Their worst fears were seemingly confirmed following an examination of the remains at a local morgue, during which family members identified Barría from a tattoo that appeared on his dismembered arm. Officials will reportedly conduct DNA testing on the body parts to confirm that they indeed belonged to him.
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Barría’s exact cause of death remains unclear. However, authorities postulate that the ATV enthusiast could’ve had an accident and been swept out to sea amid the powerful tidal surges over the weekend he disappeared.
“We currently have two hypotheses,” explained Civil Protection spokesperson José Mazzei, per Jam Press. One, that he was injured. And the other, which has more weight to it, is that — due to the damage to the quad — he was knocked unconscious on the coast and the strong high tide dragged him away.”
Just hours before Barría’s remains were discovered, a search of the area near his quad bike yielded a pair of sunglasses in a case, which the deceased’s mother confirmed were his.
The man’s friends and family were devastated over his loss. “My heart went with you!” Barría’s widow wrote on Facebook Sunday. “I love you forever.”
The investigation into the accident is ongoing.
In a similarly grisly incident in 2021, human remains were found inside a crocodile in Australia amid a search for a missing fisherman they fear was eaten by one of the reptiles.