TAYLOR COUNTY, FLORIDA: A teenage girl who hasn’t been named was attacked by a shark in shallow water. She is in critical condition. The victim was scalloping in water about five feet deep near Grassy Island on Thursday, June 30. The incident is said to have happened near Keaton Beach.
In a statement, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office said, “A family member jumped into the water and beat the shark until the child got away.” The girl was hurt very badly, so she was flown to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.
The Daily Beast says that the girl lost her leg in the attack, but she is expected to live after getting emergency care. The official statement also said, “Swimmers and scallopers are warned to be aware, watchful, and safe around sharks. Some rules to follow are: never swim alone, don’t go into the water near fishermen, stay away from places like sandbars where sharks like to hang out, don’t swim near big schools of fish, and don’t move around erratically in the water.
The shark that attacked the girl is still a mystery to the authorities, but witnesses say it was at least nine feet long. A Newsweek article says, “Florida has by far the most unprovoked shark attacks of any state in the U.S. The Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File says that since 1837, there have been just under 900 attacks in the state. Hawaii, with 182, has the second-most, and California, with 132, has the third-most.
This recent shark attack luckily didn’t kill anyone, but a British expat named Simon Nellist died in Sydney in February after being attacked by a shark at Buchan Point, near Little Bay. It was said that he was practising for a charity swim. Later, a theory about his tragic death came out. People said that Nellist’s wetsuit was the reason a 4.5-meter shark killed him. Barabara, a swimmer who often saw Nellist, said, “He always wore a wetsuit, but the water here is pretty warm, so no one else really does.”
The foreigner had lived in Australia for a long time and was about to marry Jessie Ho when he died. His friend said, “He and Jessie were supposed to get married last year, but Covid got in the way. This is just awful. We hoped and prayed all day yesterday that it wasn’t him. It’s still in a very raw state. Simon was amazing. That’s really all there is to say. He was really great. He was the nicest person in the world. It’s a terrible loss. Because of the Covid situation, we haven’t been able to see him for the last couple of years.”
“He was very interested in animals and knew just what to do. He was not stupid. It just happened by chance. Simon was diving, and he would send us videos of the wildlife out there that were so cool. He was so kind to the animals. He got out of the RAF about six years ago and went travelling. While he was out there, he fell in love with the place. Then he started to love Jessie. “I know he did some pretty big tours with the RAF,” the friend said.