Deadly shark attack kills a 14-year-old girl

[LostInSpace]

DESTIN, Florida (CNN) -- The beaches of northwest Florida will be open for swimmers Sunday, despite a deadly shark attack that killed a 14-year-old girl.

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The girl was attacked Saturday while swimming about 200 yards off shore, authorities said, in front of a campground on the Florida Panhandle east of Destin, Florida.

The girl and a friend, also 14, were swimming and using boogie boards, said Lt. Frank Owens of the Walton County Sheriff's Office. The friend saw the attack occur and saw her friend being dragged under, he said.

"For a regular swimmer, she was pretty far out," Capt. Danny Glidewell of the sheriff's office said. Usually, only surfers go that far out in the water, he said. Once swimmers pass the first sandbar, or drop-off, "you will experience more sightings of sharks," he said, although the area has never before had a shark attack.

The girls' names were not released.

Center of the 'blood pool'

Tim Dicus was surfing when he heard a scream from the water.

"I was about 200 yards out, just past the second sand bar," Dicus said. "And when I heard the scream, I turned around and saw one of the girls swimming towards the beach frantically and the other one had disappeared and there was a big dark spot where she used to be in the water."

"She was unconscious when I got to the blood pool," Dicus said.

"So I tried to pull her from the water -- the shark had made an attack when I was trying to get her out of the water. But it gave me enough time to get her on to the board once he had to come back around to make another attack."

Dicus said the shark -- about eight feet long -- continued to try to attack them on his surfboard as he made his way to the safety of shore.

"He was really aggressive," Dicus said. "I've been here a long time and I've never seen a shark get that aggressive."

"She was hurt really bad," Dicus said. "It looked like she was going to at least lose her leg. The damage on her left leg was really extensive, and I didn't know whether she had just gone into shock -- but she'd pretty much stopped bleeding by the time I got her on to the beach -- so I didn't know how we were going to save her."

Dicus said he had warned other swimmers earlier in the day against going out too far, fearing shark attacks.

Although shark sightings are not uncommon along the coast, Owens said, no one had seen a shark in the area Saturday before the attack occurred. The area was under green flags, meaning calm surf, Glidewell said.

Dr. Erich Ritter, chief scientist at the International Shark Attack File in Gainesville, Florida, said he will attend the girl's autopsy Monday morning in Pensacola.

Ritter, who describes himself as a shark behaviorist, said Saturday night, "Once I look at the wound, I will be able to tell what size, what species and likely motivation."

He said wound analysis is his specialty.

According to Ritter, it is possible the girl was attacked because she got in the shark's way as he headed toward a meal, or the shark could have mistaken splashing by the girls as activity by fish. In any case, the wounds will look different, he said.

Deaths from unprovoked shark attacks are rare, according to statistics compiled by the International Shark Attack File.

Seven people were killed in shark attacks worldwide in 2004, including two in the United States. California and Hawaii each recorded one shark attack death last year.

There were 12 shark attacks on Florida beaches in 2004, down sharply from 30 in 2003. Experts credit the busy hurricane season in 2004 for the lower numbers.

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This summer is turning out to be a rough one for the young ones.

[Guest Grayfox]

thats why im glad im landlocked.

hmm this article is a bit toned down from the one i read earlier this morning... said the shark was an 8 foot bull shark, and that it took a chunk big enough to where bone could be seen... feel bad for the parents though... shame

[John Prezioso]

Two weeks before shipping off for boot camp, I saw a movie about the infamous USS Indianapolis called "Mission of the Shark". That movie alone was enough to make me volunteer for submarine duty when I was given the opportunity in boot camp. I'd rather go down with the ship instantly than to go overboard and float around as shark bait for a few days. Scary.

[Wolferz]

It is unfortunate anytime something like this happens to someone so young.

Sffice it to say that whenever we venture into an ocean we take a long slide down the food chain. All the way to bait.

From what I have gleaned from the news shark feeding frenzy, These young people were somewhere they shouldn't have been. Beyond a natural sand barrier that keeps the predators away from the beach. If I want to go swimming I do so in a pool. At least there I can see what's in the water and I can be 100% sure that I'm not going to be eaten. I can only express my condolences for the young lady's family in their time of grief and pain.

[6case]

I just checked into a hotel down the beach (Fort Walton Beach) from the attack. Only to see on the news that a second attack just took place down the coast a little farther. Looks like I will be hanging around the pool, so much for the beachside view.

[LostInSpace]

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Originally posted by 6case:

I just checked into a hotel down the beach (Fort Walton Beach) from the attack. Only to see on the news that a second attack just took place down the coast a little farther. Looks like I will be hanging around the pool, so much for the beachside view.

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Yeah, I just saw the report a little while ago. Wonder if it's the same shark.

[Kalshion]

200 yards? That girl didn't bother to listen to what either her parents said, or from what the guards said, Hell she shouldn't have even been OUT that far!

Sharks won't attack a person unless movement or blood is detected

Blood expically! It seems them into a feeding frenzy

Thats why if you have a cut they tell you, DO NOT SWIM

When I went to Cali for a field trip with my high school three years ago, I was told that by the teacher, and yes I had a cut, it wasn't bleeding but I was told to stay out of the water

Even dried up blood still leaves a scant scent for sharks and that scant scent will still put them into a feeding frenzy

Young people these days think there invincible and that nothing will happen to them, well, this case just proved otherwise