Shark attack off Florida. Teen dead.
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050625/...ltBHNlYwM3MTY-

14-Year-Old Girl Dies in Fla. Shark Attack

SANDESTIN, Fla. - 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.

SHit happens.

Stop feeding the fish kids.

Its rare for a shark to kill someone off florida. When I surf NSI or Sebastion inlet I see sharks all the time mostly mini hammers and shovel nose sharks. Every once in awhile I will see a 6foot+ spinner shark. They are are always around. I have just been lucky so far. =x

Do you just goto fucking Yahoo news and come here and post shit? Think none of us watch TV or have net access? :1orglaugh

awww, that was awful. :(

Wow, sounds like Jaws all over again.

Anyway, it's amazing that she could swim all the way back to shore just to die afterwards.

thats pretty fucked up, we just had one here in jersey a couple weeks ago

life is nothing :(

the 5 years i lived in fl, never once did i see a shark and i used to hang out from stuart beach all the way up to sebastion.....

i guess i was lucky.

That's why I prefer mountain climbing more than scuba diving..

It's not amazing for me.. it's awfully sad to be able to swim all the way to the shore then juz die afterwards.. really pretty sad.. and she's only 14..

sad story. but shit happens.

Shame, I hate to see that.


Hey KMR, have you been over to COCO latley? I know the sharks can get kinda think over there at times.

fuckin sharks...peace and love everyone!

said... :(

You see the big ones at night here in south florida, they come right up to the fucking beach... 2-3 feet of water 7 foot shark... it doesn't look or sound possible but I've seen a couple do this wierd act. I beleive they're trying to scare up the fish to shallower water so it's easier to attack them... they also eat large turtles... as tehy come to shore to lay their eggs.

Another reason why I dislike the water. :(

That fucking sucks, but we look like food in the water. 99% of all shark attacks are mistaken identity.

this is life..

sounds harsh but this is nature.

we eat fish and sharks eat us.
its sad that this happend to such a young child but like i said before this is nature

Saw several out yesterday. The local news shot video of a 14 ft Hammerhead 20 feet away from swimmers. Still was a great day to be at the beach though. :thumbsup

that's why im careful when swimming in an open water...btw...the beach was opened a day after the attack.

Don't go 600 feet out and more than likely you'll be fine. A human on a boogie board looks to a shark like something they usually eat.