The woman killed by a shark Wednesday was identified by police Thursday as Margaret "Margo" Cruse, 65, of Kihei.
Cruse, a spiritual woman and animal lover, was swimming Wednesday at one of her favorite spots off South Maui when she was fatally bitten, friends said.
"She was just an open, loving, independent, curious and a very adventurous spirit," said friend Laurie Rohrer of Haiku.
Rohrer said Cruse would visit La Perouse Bay nearly every morning to commune with the sea and pray. Afterward she would swim with dolphins nearby or visit schools of fish off Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve.
Maui firefighters said snorkelers found Cruse floating unconscious and facedown about 200 yards from shore near a surf spot called "Dumps," fronting the Ahihi reserve.
Cruse was pulled out of the water with injuries consistent with a shark bite at about 9 a.m. and died, a state land department spokesman said.
An autopsy has been completed, but Maui police did not release the cause of death Thursday.
A Maui fire spokesman said Cruse had been snorkeling with two others but was alone when found. There were no known witnesses to the attack, and no shark was ever seen, officials said.
The shoreline from Big Beach to La Perouse lighthouse was closed until noon Thursday.
Rohrer said Cruse had fostered a relationship with dolphins and would enter the water with milo leaves for the animals to play with and leave the ocean with trash she had collected.
She said Cruse knew Hawaiian chants, visited indigenous people in the jungle in South America and spent three months hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone on the West Coast. She also took care of wounded cats and birds and helped the Kihei Canoe Club take people’s ashes out to sea.
"She took care of the sea, she took care of the land," Rohrer said.
Pamela Polland, another friend, said Cruse was part of her swimming group, known as the Maui Mermaids. Polland said Cruse had been swimming at Ahihi for about 15 years.
She said Cruse was a strong swimmer and usually swam about a mile at a time.
The morning of the incident, Cruse had been snorkeling with a married couple who went out about 500 yards, but Cruse broke off to stay closer to shore, Polland said.
Alex Detrick, who was on the beach when Cruse was pulled from the water, said she had a bite about 18 inches wide from her right shoulder down her back.
Detrick, who has seen only reef sharks at Ahihi in about 20 years of swimming there, said Cruse swam at Ahihi most days because she loved seeing the sea life.
"She was a good soul," he said. "This is what she loved to do, and she died with her flippers on. It’s what made her joyful and peaceful."
