Head found in shark's belly

Daily Mail (U.K.) ^ | 04/22/2002 | Frank Thorne

[Pokey78]

A human skull has been found inside a tiger shark caught off New South Wales, Australia.

		Fisherman Bob Van Leuwick looks into the mouth of the tiger shark he caught

Four recreational game fishermen found human body parts in the stomach of the shark when they cut it open after returning to shore.

"The first thing we found was a whale bone and we were interested to see what else the shark had eaten," said skipper Bob van Leuwick. "Then, all of a sudden, a human head rolled out. It was quite a shock."

Police are checking missing person files and trying to identify the remains. A post-mortem examination will be held tomorrow but it is not yet known whether the remains are those of a male or female.

Mr Van Leuwick said: "We slit the gut open to see what was inside it. Some bits and pieces came out that we didn't realise were part of a human. But then the skull rolled out and we realised we'd caught a man-eater."

Crime scene officers and a forensic pathologist were called and the remains were taken to a morgue in nearby Newcastle.

"The skull was pretty well preserved. It has all its teeth, so the police said they were pretty confident they could find out who the person was. I reckon the remains were no more than a week or two old," said Mr Van Leuwick.

The discovery recalled memories of Sydney's "shark arm case" of 1935 in which a tiger shark which had been put in an aquarium regurgitated a human arm with a rope tied to the wrist. The victim was identified but no one was ever convicted of murder.

[CFW]

Chandra...?

[Enterprise]

The shark got some head and then died happy. I completely understand.

[CFW]

I reckon the remains were no more than a week or two old,"

Oops. Guess not.

[SouthernFreebird]

Wow a real ....head case.

[martin_fierro]

Never look a gift shark in the mouth.

[Phantom Lord]

I like telling this story and this seems as good a thread as any for it.

When I was younger my family would do the family vacation thing every year. We always went to the beach and one day every year my father and I would go deep sea fishing. This story happened when I was 12 or 13. Anyone who goes deep sea fishing knows that the poles used are very stiff and do not bend a great deal unless you have a very large and/or powerful fish on. Well, its the end of the outing and the boat captain announces "all lines up." We are about 15 miles out and can see no land. I start to bring up my line and the poll starts bending like an ultralight. The Captain and a couple of mates come over and stand ready gaff hooks and other equipment for what we are assuming is going to be one hell of a catch.

Well, a few minutes into it the Captain and mates are trying to figure out what I have on. A shark? Skate? Ray? They are leaning toward shark. I am hoping it is. Still reeling and trying to land the thing. All the other 'fishers' have gathered around to see what this young kid is bringing in. Poll still bending like crazy, gaff hooks at the ready, I am about to bring my catch to the surface...

Guess what I caught. You ready...

A pair of jeans with cinderblocks tied to it!

I am not making this up. The captain cut my line and dropped em back into the ocean.

[Slyfox]

Osama...?

[Zack Nguyen]

Mercy. That must have been somewhat shocking for a 12-year old. Was it off the New Jersey shore? :)

[Phantom Lord]

I was upset they cut my line. Would have been a hell of a wall mount. LOL

We were staying in Bethany Beach Delaware. Were either off Delawares or Marylands coast.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I pulled up a small octopus attached to a conch when I was a little kid living in Japan. The 'pus left some black inky ooze on the boat deck and scampered overboard before I could get the net.

[texson66]

Jimmy Hoffa?

[Thinkin' Gal]

Jonah's unrepentant twin?

[MarkWar]

>Head found in shark's belly

Mark W.

(Yes, I know this is a doomed joke -- 50% of the people won't know what the heck I'm saying, and the other 50% won't want to admit that they know what I'm saying...)

[KC_Conspirator]

Its interesting that the Australian police have done this before. Some years ago they were able to indentify a man served up to the sharks and convict the drug dealers who did it.

[Ax]

You can definitely include me in that 50%.

[VadeRetro]

The lawyer for the shark's estate claimed that the evidence was circumstantial, the shark's stomach had been opened without a warrant, and the shark's culture permitted the taking of human prey as needed. He has filed suit on behalf of the murdered shark's family and friends against the four fishermen and defendants to be named later.

[LibertarianLiz]

This is not as unusual as we may like to think. I believe last year(pre9-11), there was also a story of a shark being cut open and a human skull inside. Also, Australia. Swimmers go missing all the time out there.

[boris]

"Fisherman Bob Van Leuwick looks into the mouth of the tiger shark he caught"

"Alas, poor Yorick; I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest..."

--Boris