Jana Lutteropp, the 20-year old German tourist, who was on life support for a week after a shark attack, has died. The German girl has spent a year working as an Au Pair in Seattle, Washington and traveled to Maui, Hawaii for a three-week vacation before her scheduled return to Germany in September.
Lutteropp was snorkeling 100 yards off Palauea Beach in Makena when a shark attacked and bit off her arm. A high-school teacher from Laguna Niguel California, Rick Moore, 57 heroically jumped to her rescue.
The statement from her mother, Jutta Lutteropp and sister, Julia Broeske:
“Jana fought hard to stay alive. However, we are sad to say that she lost her fight Jana was a very beautiful, strong, young woman who was always laughing, and we will forever remember her that way.
We appreciate all the support from the Maui community, as well as the prayers and thoughts from around the world and in Germany.
We especially want to thank the wonderful caregivers and everyone at Maui Memorial Medical Center.”
The family is requesting privacy and asked that donations in her memory be made to the Maui Memorial Medical Center Foundation.
The last time someone in Hawaii died from a shark attack was in 2004, William Aila, the head of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the agency responsible for Hawaii’s waters:
“As an island state, we are aware that we are all visitors in the natural environment that surrounds us, and that unfortunate incidents such as this one can occur. We are committed to furthering research efforts that will help guide effective management actions in the interest of safety.”
Hawaii officials announced Tuesday they plan to spend the next two years studying tiger shark movements around Maui amid what they call an unprecedented spike in overall shark attacks since the start of 2012.