Posted on 06/25/2005 2:19:19 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
A 14-year-old girl died Saturday after a shark attacked her while she and a companion were swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, authorities said.
The teenagers were swimming on boogie boards about 100 yards offshore when they noticed a dark shadow in the water, authorities said.
"One of the swimmers was bitten. It was the lower portions of her body," said Walton County Sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Shank. The other swimmer was not injured.
Both girls swam to shore, and the victim was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, Shank said. The girl was on vacation from Louisiana, but her name was not immediately released.
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.
"This doesn't happen very often at all — very, very seldom," said Mike McKee, front desk supervisor at the nearby Hilton Sandestin Beach Resort and Spa.
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.
I think maybe we should prepare an indictment against the shark. Someone needs to petition Governor Bush not to be a cowboy like his brother and go off and kill the shark. We need to understand sharks and examine our own behavour instead of blaming sharks.
The ones we have seen off the coast of south FL, we called Portugese man-o-war...they were blue. Most often seen washed up in the surf during winter months. If there were enough, the beaches would post a warning. Another cold weather surf creature is the Blue Fish...they can take fingers off. They still bite even with their heads cut off. Very popular sport/game fish in FL, but they do travel in large schools and I for one would NEVER go in the surf if the pelicans were diving. Blue fish are caught with spoon lures (read: attracted to "shiney")--sharp teeth.
Man the florida tourist board is gonna green light you if you aren't careful. I don't like the sound of those blue fish.
You might even want to watch "up to your ankles" as I was in the water at Destin years ago when my husband who was shore fishing yelled out to get my attention. I was wading calf deep along the shoreline and my husband yelled sharks, sharks. He being a great kidder didn't get my attention but when he threw in his line right behind me and caught 2 sand sharks that were trailing me I got out of the water quick.
The girl is from Gonzales, little town south of Baton Rouge. Apparently the two boys brought her in on a raft. At one point the shark was under them so they stopped paddling and someone distracted the shark. Gives me the chills to think of it.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SHARK_ATTACK?SITE=LABAT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-06-25-18-20-40
the site of the article on the shark attack.
Well cg, if you're ever on the east coast of FL in january and there's miles of guys surf casting, and the surf is teeming with mullet; that's a good time to hang out around the pool.
Still, this death from shark attack on the gulf side, is a sad story and my prayers go out to the family.
:(
incredible.
"It'll be interesting to see what it's going to do to our tourist driven economy around here."
IMO, nothing negative. The increased number of drownings over the past several years on the Panhandle coast west of you have not lead to decreased property values. Ivan was a disaster but will not stop people from wanting a slice of the coast.
Also, I don't know what status is today, but there was once a ban on feeding sharks in Florida. Don't give out your name;)
THANK YOU! I was about to say the same thing after reading some of the posts. That is a long way! It's a football field for crying out loud and this is the ocean. Of course there are going to be sharks. We love the Gulf, but we're very respectful of the area, as well.
Local news doesn't have the girl's name yet. Sad thing.
It is a very sad thing. Prayers for her family.
http://story.waltonsun.com/article.display.db.php?a=159
GIRL KILLED BY SHARK IDENTIFIED
June 25, 2005
By Staff reports
A 14-year-old girl from Louisiana visiting South Walton, was killed Saturday when a shark attacked her about 100 feet from the shoreline.
The girl, Jamie Dagle, was identified by the family's priest, Rev. Gary Belsome of St. Thersea of Avila Catholic Church in Gonzales, La., in the Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans later in the day.
I didn't know the second sandbar was gone. We went way out onthe first sandbar, it was broader than I remembered.
Those two guys who got her in were amazingly brave.
Absolutely. btw, here is the link from the Times-Picayune
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1119768975261270.xml
NOLA can be excerpted or linked only.
Yes, it's not far from Pensacola.
Last time I was down there, we went swimming at Navarre Beach (as usual.) A school of large fish came near us, jumping frantically out of the water. I immediately headed toward shore. A woman near us laughed at me, and said they were just fish. I told her "I know, but what are they trying to get away from?" She just poopooed me, and stayed where she was. (I thought about zebras crossing crocodile infested rivers.) About half an hour to an hour later, a boy was attacked by a shark farther down the beach, in the direction the fish had been swimming.
Some people have no brains!!
Since the seals have returned to the California coast, the sharks have returned there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.