Posted on 06/15/2015 8:35:00 AM PDT by Enlightened1
OAK ISLAND, N.C. (AP) -- Two young people vacationing in the beach town of Oak Island were swimming in waist-deep water when they lost limbs in separate life-threatening shark attacks, town officials said Monday.
A 12-year-old girl from Asheboro lost part of her arm and suffered a leg injury, and a 16-year-old boy from Winston-Salem lost his left arm less than 90 minutes later and about 2 miles away late Sunday afternoon, officials said. The victims were each about 20 yards offshore.
The emergency call about the girl came in about 4:40 p.m., and the one about the boy at 5:51 p.m., local officials said.
Investigators said they didn't know whether the same shark attacked both victims, nor the size of the shark in either attack. Deputies using boats and helicopters to monitor the water after the attacks saw a 7-foot shark between where the incidents happened, sheriff John Ingram said.
Oak Island is working with local law enforcement and the Shark Research Institute to locate the shark but wouldn't say what would happen if they find it, town manager Tim Holloman said.
"We're just monitoring right now," he said.
Witnesses described a frightening and chaotic scene on the normally placid beach.
"I saw someone carry this girl (out of the water), and people were swarming around and trying to help," Steve Bouser, who was just beginning his weeklong vacation, told The Associated Press. "It was quite terrible."
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
I used to swim as far out into the ocean as I could go (bearing in mind the return trip) to the point where I could no longer see people on the beach... Knowing what I know NOW.. NO WAY!!
So literally swimming with the sharks.... How pleasant.
I know it’s rare when they attack, but still I would not be ridding a boogie board in those waters. A shark may mistake you for a seal
A shark may mistake you for a seal
________________
I don’t think that a shark attack is a mistake, a meal is a meal.
Oh wonderful. Another generation of people having panic attacks in the deep end of swimming pools. :)
LOL, he had fun for a grownup child.
Far to the north of you, we spent the weekend at Bandon, OR. The beach there is safe because no one will swim there without a wet suit. However, on occasion during a Winter storm the surf will push a log up on the beach and squash an unlucky beachcomber. The water is very cold and the seas are rough with bad currents and undertow. This weekend there was also a cold 20/30 mph wind. Typical Oregon Coast Spring/Summer weather.
Why go? It is beautiful and fascinating to watch the rugged coast and water. Bottom fishing with a charter will fill your freezer. After the wife overdoses on shopping in overpriced shops we can get superb seafood and then look out the window of our motel, enjoy an adult beverage and watch a beautiful sunset.
Yep, It is sort of like getting into a large Aquarium with wild animals. When you go swimming in the ocean you are getting into a Shark’s backyard. Sharks eat things and if your playing in his backyard he may want a snack or a meal, depends on how you taste and how hungry it is.....
The shark coulda been after fish in the shallow water. I’ve seen it from a boogie board. Blues will founder in the surf and the sharks come in between sets to collect them.
I go to Sunset Beach. Love it down there. Oak Island merged with Long Beach and Yaupon.
“Humans are friends, not food.”
Unfortunately the rest of the state sux politically now. That makes it a great place to visit but I would never live there now.
Is she on Facebook?
My best friend has a beach house in Oak Island and I spend a lot of time there. Tropical storm Ana caused quite a bit of erosion and now there is a drop off in the water, making it quite deep very quickly. I don’t go in the water.
One thing we noticed especially this year is almost all the surf fishermen were catching only sharks. Most were small ones, under 18 inches, but we saw one about 3 feet one guy threw back. Apparently PETA or somebody convinced the local phoobahs that all caught sharks need to be thrown back - which everybody was doing. I hear they are re-thinking the policy of throwing them back.
They provide regular updates on Mary Lee’s travels on the local news in Norfolk. When I first heard about the attack, I thought about Mary Lee, but she’s rather large and I think that large dorsal fin sticking out of the water would have sent folks scurrying.
However, it turns out that Mary Lee was off the NC coast yesterday, but well out to sea:
https://twitter.com/MaryLeeShark
Another tagged specimen, a Tiger Shark named Chessie, was much closer to the coast yesterday.
I’m guessing a bull shark was probably responsible for the North Carolina attacks.
I’m reading the feeds from Ocean Isle and they are shocked to learn that sharks are in the water.
Really? You didn’t know that?
I’m guessing it was a Great White Shark or a Megalodon. Either one would attract more clicks than a Bull Shark, so I expect the media to go with my panicky guess rather than a mere informed opinion.
My understand is that sharks don’t have great vision. A standing human is enormous to a shark so they don’t attack.
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