Human remains believed to be of Diego Barría, a 32-year-old man who went missing in southern Argentina earlier this month, were found inside a school shark that was captured by local fishermen, news agency Associated Press reported. Barría, an "oil worker" with a "passion" for fishing according to the local media, had last been seen riding his all-terrain vehicle late on February 18 near the coast in the southern Chubut province.
According to the report, the damaged ATV was located on a beach near Rocas Coloradas on February 20 but there was no sign of Barría and a search was launched to locate him.
His partner, Virginia Brugger, had been posting updates on the search on Facebook.
On Sunday, the AP report said, two fishermen reported to the coast guard that they had fished three school sharks close to where Barría’s ATV was located, and when they were cleaning them, they found human remains in one of the sharks, Daniela Millatruz, the law enforcement officer who was in charge of the search, told the local media, according to the AP report. Family members recognised the father of three "due to a tattoo that appeared in one of those remains", she said.
"The most likely hypothesis that investigators are currently working with is that Barría had an accident and was dragged," Cristian Ansaldo, who heads the police department in the city of Comodoro Rivadavia, was quoted as saying.
The remains will undergo DNA testing to officially confirm that they belong to Barría. Officials are continuing to investigate what exactly happened to him and are looking into whether a vehicle was involved.
Ansaldo said the school shark, in which the remains were found, was around 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) long. Taking to Facebook on Sunday, Brugger posted: "My heart went with you! I love you forever."
Argentina's southern coast is known for its rough waters, and Barría’s disappearance took place during a weekend with strong tidal surges, according to local reports.