Werner Schoenhofer: Coroner hands down finding on mystery of windsurfer who disappeared off Geraldton 27 years ago

A 27-year-old mystery surrounding the disappearance of a tourist who was windsurfing off the West Australian coast has been finalised. In 1997, experienced windsurfer Werner Schoenhofer travelled to Western Australia from Germany with a group of sailboarders for a five-week holiday. The group visited Geraldton, about 420km north of Perth, which is rated one of the best windsurfing locations in the world because of its strong winds and uncrowded conditions. Mr Schoenhofer went windsurfing with his friend Klaus Maier at Point More, Geraldton on the afternoon of January 20, 1997, but never returned to shore. The friends became separated on the water and when Mr Maier made it back to shore about 5.30pm the conditions had become dangerous, with strong winds and rough seas. Mr Maier became concerned about his friend and reported him missing half an hour later at the Geraldton police station. An air and sea search of the area was unable to locate Mr Schoenhofer that night, but his board washed up on Coronation Beach about nine nautical miles north of Point Moore the following day. A cray boat skipper found his shredded blue and yellow wetsuit and damaged windsurfing harness in the ocean near where his board was found later that day. Mr Schoenhofer’s body has never been found. Deputy coroner Sarah Linton said the wetsuit was covered in bite marks and it was apparent to locals in the area the tears had been made by a shark. A report from a senior scientist at Forensic Services Biology Department confirmed the damage to the wetsuit and harness were consistent with bites from a large tiger shark, around 12 to 13 foot in length. She said the report also confirmed through DNA testing that the wetsuit and harness had belonged to Mr Schoenhofer. “Unfortunately, that is a rare but not unknown occurrence in the waters off Western Australia, which is known to be frequented by sharks,” the deputy coroner said in her report. “Fatal tiger shark attacks, in particular, are known to have occurred in the waters off Geraldton and at the relevant time local fisherman had reported seeing more sharks in the area than normal due to unusually warm water conditions.” Witnesses reported seeing Mr Schoenhofer get knocked off his about about 2km offshore, according to local newspaper the Geraldton Guardian. Another windsurfer Rik Engstrom, who examined Mr Schoenhofer’s board, said there was a head high dent on the sail, which suggested it had hit him on the head. Mr Engstrom told the West Australian newspaper it could have made him unconscious or incapacitated before he fell into the water and was taken by a shark. “It is clear from the information provided by Mr Schoenhofer’s family that his disappearance came as a great shock to them, as his family were very close and he was very loved,” Deputy Coroner Linton said. “They experienced a great loss when he never came home from Australia, but they accepted that he died on 20 January 1997 while doing something that he loved and he understood the risks involved.”