A bull shark swims near Miramar Beach, Fla., Sunday, less than a quarter-mile from where a girl was fatally attacked Saturday.
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.
Sharks prefer not to eat humans, but it's still not a good idea to stand in the middle of their feeding frenzy.
I remember that. We were down by the ditch.
When I took up bass fishing, we would go into coves in the spring and summer and run across dozens of them sunning on logs. I was always happy to get out of those coves..there were some pretty big ones.
I sure did not want to hook one of those. That line would of been cut quick!
"100 yards offshore " seems a bit far to me."
The area where she was attacked is a short drive from my home. My family spends a lot of time along that shore line.
The beach has sandbar features in some areas. That beach has a large sandbar at about the 100 yard point. The water between the beach and sandbar is relatively shallow.
Unfortunately, most people are unaware of the fact that the predator fish frequent the deep side of that same sandbar.
"I'm never swimming past four feet of ocean water ever again."
I believe that most shark attacks occur in water that's less than four feet in depth.
Ah. Thanks for that explanation.
Are there any warning signs?
fyi - Read post #223
Most people around here will tell you to watch out for moving schools of smaller bait fish, and to get your ass into shallower water if you see them. Apparently sharks will sometimes follow bait fish into the shallow water.
"Ivan was a disaster but will not stop people from wanting a slice of the coast."
Boy, that's the truth. The real estate market down here is insane! Property values in my neighborhood have nearly doubled in the last 12 months.
Actually, I meant signs posted on the beach. ;~ )
Today they showed that vacationers have already gone back into the water there. And even two girls floating in what looked like four to five feet of water. No thanks.
Get over the death part and the rest will work itself out. ;-)
A bull shark swims near Miramar Beach, Fla., Sunday, less than a quarter-mile from where a girl was fatally attacked Saturday.
"The beach is the beach," said Dicus. "Once you get past that second sandbar, you're in the gulf. And when you're in the gulf, that's where big fish are. You go way down on the food chain."
An autopsy was planned for today, and a shark expert was invited to attend to help determine the type and size of the shark involved, authorities said Sunday.
Jamie was visiting the beach with friends; her family was home in Gonzales, La.
A 20-mile stretch of beach closed Saturday was reopened Sunday, with extra lifeguards and people warily watching the surf.
Residents of a condominium complex next to the beach where the girl was attacked said they saw a shark that looked about 6 feet long Sunday morning.
Although Jamie and her friend, 14-year-old Felicia Venable, were farther from shore than recommended, it is common for boogie-boarders, surfers and people on personal watercraft to go beyond the sandbars that separate the shallow beach area from the open gulf, said Walton County sheriff's Capt. Danny Glidewell.
"Our pilots who fly our helicopters have always reported to us that if you look offshore, there's always a large number of sharks - always has been because that's their natural habitat," he said.
Officials said Saturday that Hurricane Ivan had obliterated the second sandbar in some sections.
A makeshift memorial of painted sand dollars, a boogie board and a magnolia was created on the beach where Jamie was brought to shore. Someone wrote in the sand, "Bless U."
Jamie Marie Daigle of Gonzales, La., was swimming on a boogie board with a friend at least 100 yards from shore when she was attacked.
To the point where you'd like to sell but couldn't afford to replace what you have, probably.
Get over the death part and the rest will work itself out. ;-)
Agreed . Just stay out of the saltwater and take up something else like camping. - Tom
Bear Kills Couple at Campsite in Alaska Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | June 27, 2005 | AP
Posted on 06/27/2005 10:26:45 AM EDT by Cincinatus' Wife
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Two people camping along the Hulahula River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were killed by a grizzly bear, officials said Sunday. Officials discovered the bodies and an unused firearm in a tent Saturday at a campsite near the river. They also shot and killed the animal.
Gulf Shores and Perdido Key both have those sand bars. I had to get on my husband and son last year for going out too far...they scared me to death. We had been seeing rays playing in the shallows bumping into people. When we got back to our condo (up nine flights up) we could see a dark shadow following the rays around...they looked like sharks.
Cute girl, such a shame.
People need to remember it's dangerous enough that there are predatory humans among us and there still is natures own predatory and hungry animals and fish out there too, beware.
Thank you. I was stunned to read of the most recent attack, that of a 16 yo boy who was standing in water to his waist.
It's not the death part that I mind.
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.