Shark Attack
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>>I am from South Louisiana and just heard about the incident. If my sources are correct, the girl is from here and goes to a local schoo.. Any information would be appreciated.<<
New York Times didn't release a name but said she was from Gonzales, LA.
New York Times didn't release a name but said she was from Gonzales, LA.
SO helicopters flying the beach this morning, spotting sharks, counted 60-70 from East Pass moving east. Wonder if they'll open beaches today?
RiverOtter
got any pics?
So sad 
. Once you enter the ocean you are no longer on the top of the food chain. I love the ocean but am never at ease while I swimming 
.
. Once you enter the ocean you are no longer on the top of the food chain. I love the ocean but am never at ease while I swimming .
phdphay said:
anytime there is easy fishy-looking food within reach is shark feeding time - they don't just feed at twilight times - proof, just check out any of the feeding frenzy stuff on action tv programs, right at midday for the best lighting - sharks have been crusing the beaches for tasty snacks since before we were here - respect them or get bit, don't wear flashy jewelry like lures and bob/flap around like happy bait - our sympathy to her and hers, and to the shark, who will probably die if it swallowed any big bones
Sympathy for the shark? You are sick.
This from usatoday.com:
Surfer recounts fatal shark attack in Fla.
DESTIN, Fla. (AP) ? The beaches of northwest Florida opened swimmers Sunday, despite a deadly shark attack that killed a 14-year-old girl on Saturday.
Beachgoers walk along the shore near the Camping on the Gulf Campground in Destin, Fla.
Mari Darr-Welch, AP
A surfer who tried to rescue the girl provided some details on the attack.
Tim Dicus was surfing when he heard the scream. He turned and saw a girl swimming as fast as she could ? and another one face down in a bloody circle of water. Dicus, 54, paddled over to the wounded 14-year-old girl, who had been swimming on a boogie board about 100 yards offshore.
"Right next to her was the shark, about to come up and attack her again," Dicus said. He put the girl on his surf board and the shark ? which appeared to be a bull shark about 8 feet long ? went after her hand.
"He just followed us right to the beach," Dicus said. "He was determined to finish lunch. I hate to put it that way, but that was what he was trying to do."
The girl was bitten on the thigh, and was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, said Walton County Sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Shank.
Her name wasn't immediately released, but officials said the girl was on vacation from Gonzales, La.
Dicus said he punched the shark on the nose as it tried to attack him. Two other swimmers came with a raft, which they put the girl in and towed to shore.
Jeff White, 49, of Atlanta, said his son was in the raft.
"He said at one point, the shark was underneath them," White said. "So they stopped paddling. Somebody distracted the shark and they brought the girl the rest of the way in."
White said his son, Chris White, 23, told his father that "she probably may have already been gone before they got her to shore."
The attack happened near the Camping on the Gulf Holiday Travel Park, about 45 miles east of Pensacola on the Florida Panhandle.
Patrick O'Neill, the campground's general manager, refused to comment.
Authorities closed about 20 miles of beaches to swimming shortly after the attack. It's the height of the summer tourism season along the coast and the beaches were packed with people.
"It was a bad attack," said George Burgess, curator of the International Shark Attack File located at University of Florida. "Certainly it was a reasonably large shark."
Burgess, who was heading to the scene to investigate, said it was the first shark attack of any kind recorded in Walton County.
"It's not a renegade shark looking for humans," Burgess said. "Probably it was a one shot deal and it's not likely to attack again."
Twelve-year-old Robert Goodwin, of St. Louis, Mo., said he was in the gulf during the attack and ordered out of the water. His father, Mark, said the family comes every year and "it was just an eerie feeling to see folks sitting there on the beach" instead of swimming.
Florida had the largest number of documented shark attacks worldwide in 2003 with 30, according to statistics compiled by the American Elasmobranch Society and the Florida Museum of Natural History. There were 12 attacks off the coast of Florida last year.
Surfer recounts fatal shark attack in Fla.
DESTIN, Fla. (AP) ? The beaches of northwest Florida opened swimmers Sunday, despite a deadly shark attack that killed a 14-year-old girl on Saturday.
Beachgoers walk along the shore near the Camping on the Gulf Campground in Destin, Fla.
Mari Darr-Welch, AP
A surfer who tried to rescue the girl provided some details on the attack.
Tim Dicus was surfing when he heard the scream. He turned and saw a girl swimming as fast as she could ? and another one face down in a bloody circle of water. Dicus, 54, paddled over to the wounded 14-year-old girl, who had been swimming on a boogie board about 100 yards offshore.
"Right next to her was the shark, about to come up and attack her again," Dicus said. He put the girl on his surf board and the shark ? which appeared to be a bull shark about 8 feet long ? went after her hand.
"He just followed us right to the beach," Dicus said. "He was determined to finish lunch. I hate to put it that way, but that was what he was trying to do."
The girl was bitten on the thigh, and was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, said Walton County Sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Shank.
Her name wasn't immediately released, but officials said the girl was on vacation from Gonzales, La.
Dicus said he punched the shark on the nose as it tried to attack him. Two other swimmers came with a raft, which they put the girl in and towed to shore.
Jeff White, 49, of Atlanta, said his son was in the raft.
"He said at one point, the shark was underneath them," White said. "So they stopped paddling. Somebody distracted the shark and they brought the girl the rest of the way in."
White said his son, Chris White, 23, told his father that "she probably may have already been gone before they got her to shore."
The attack happened near the Camping on the Gulf Holiday Travel Park, about 45 miles east of Pensacola on the Florida Panhandle.
Patrick O'Neill, the campground's general manager, refused to comment.
Authorities closed about 20 miles of beaches to swimming shortly after the attack. It's the height of the summer tourism season along the coast and the beaches were packed with people.
"It was a bad attack," said George Burgess, curator of the International Shark Attack File located at University of Florida. "Certainly it was a reasonably large shark."
Burgess, who was heading to the scene to investigate, said it was the first shark attack of any kind recorded in Walton County.
"It's not a renegade shark looking for humans," Burgess said. "Probably it was a one shot deal and it's not likely to attack again."
Twelve-year-old Robert Goodwin, of St. Louis, Mo., said he was in the gulf during the attack and ordered out of the water. His father, Mark, said the family comes every year and "it was just an eerie feeling to see folks sitting there on the beach" instead of swimming.
Florida had the largest number of documented shark attacks worldwide in 2003 with 30, according to statistics compiled by the American Elasmobranch Society and the Florida Museum of Natural History. There were 12 attacks off the coast of Florida last year.
JB, he is not sick, he is a biologist. Perhaps you should open your eyes to a wider view of the universe.JB said:
Do have a hatred of yourself for eating animals?
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shark sighting in Blue Mt. Beach ???
My family and I just got back from Blue Mt. Beach, (beautiful area, by the way, but a little too quiet for us!) We were out on the beach and spotted a dark shadow moving quickly, it moved right down the beach about 50-75 yds. out. We got everyone out of the water. Later, a couple from Atlanta told us they saw a bull shark swim between some swimmers on rafts!
Then, my husband and I were at Pompano Joes in Destin and saw the same thing from the restaurant! jeez! On our way home to Missouri yesterday, about 15 minutes from our home, we happened to hear about the shark attack on the radio!!! I was a little freaked out after seeing what I saw. I wasn't sure if it was a dolphin or shark, but it was big, probably 8-10 feet long. I read some on this forum about what really happened. Sooooo sad, and very scary.
My family and I just got back from Blue Mt. Beach, (beautiful area, by the way, but a little too quiet for us!) We were out on the beach and spotted a dark shadow moving quickly, it moved right down the beach about 50-75 yds. out. We got everyone out of the water. Later, a couple from Atlanta told us they saw a bull shark swim between some swimmers on rafts!
Then, my husband and I were at Pompano Joes in Destin and saw the same thing from the restaurant! jeez! On our way home to Missouri yesterday, about 15 minutes from our home, we happened to hear about the shark attack on the radio!!! I was a little freaked out after seeing what I saw. I wasn't sure if it was a dolphin or shark, but it was big, probably 8-10 feet long. I read some on this forum about what really happened. Sooooo sad, and very scary.
Water was closed to swimmers this morning in Grayton Beach. There was a beautiful calm over the water, several people fishing from shore, no one wading in the water, and two kayakers puttsing around enjoying the morning.lollygal said:
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