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03/25/2002 Tori Lawrence (Florida)

Shark Attack Survivors News Archive for Shark Attacks in 2002.
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sharkbait
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03/25/2002 Tori Lawrence (Florida)

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Shark bites girl's foot**

The Associated Press
Posted March 25, 2002, 1:34 PM EST
COCOA BEACH -- An 11-year-old tourist was attacked by a shark Monday as she waded in shallow water on an Atlantic Ocean beach, officials said.

"She had a serious injury to her foot, but it was not life threatening," said Cocoa Beach Fire Capt. Rod Donhoff.
The girl was standing in knee-deep water when she screamed and began to crawl to the beach, witnesses said.

She girl was taken by helicopter to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where she was being treated. Her condition wasn't available, a nursing supervisor said.

Emergency officials refused to identify her, but WKMG-TV in Orlando said she and her family were from Sterling, Ill.

There were more than 50 shark attacks in U.S. coastal waters last year, including more than 35 in Florida. 

http://orlandosentinel.com/news/local/o ... 2002.story
sharkbait
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Surgeon: Shark Bit Girl In Brevard
Girl, 11, In Good Condition

POSTED: 6:38 am EST March 27, 2002
UPDATED: 6:44 am EST March 27, 2002

COCOA BEACH, Fla. -- Despite the doubts of Brevard County beach officials, a surgeon said a young girl was definitely bit by a shark at Cocoa Beach.

Shark Bites Child's Foot In Brevard
Tori Lawrence, 11, was pulled underwater by a shark and bitten on the foot Monday. She is visiting the area for spring break with her family from Illinois.


Brevard County Chief Lifeguard Wyatt Werneth wasn't sure that Lawrence was a shark bite victim.

"This isn't shark season right now, so that makes me skeptical. Also, the fact that it was on the lower foot -- sharks don't normally go for the sand unless she was on an apparatus floating, but you never know," Werneth said.

Lawrence's brother pulled her out of the water, and a nurse vacationing from Indiana, Stacey Buser, began first aid while rescuers were summoned.

"You could see ligaments, tendons, and part of the bone across the ankle. [There were] bite marks down right below the toes. She'll probably need surgery," Buser said.

Lawrence was flown by helicopter to Orlando Regional Medical Center where she's in good condition, officials said.


http://www.wesh.com/news/1327822/detail.html
sharkbait
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Post by sharkbait »

 Lifeguards Question Reported Shark Bite
wftv.com
Doctors say it was a shark that bit a young girl at the beach today. Lifeguards are saying they don't believe it.
Here's one reason lifeguards believe Tori Lawrence may have been injured in some way other than a shark bite. Eyewitnesses all agree Lawrence was only in knee- to ankle-deep water. Lifeguards say that's too shallow for a shark
Eyewitnesses say 11-year-old Tori Lawrence's screams for help shattered an otherwise calm spring break morning on the beach.
"I thought maybe she'd just gotten stung by a stingray, but she's got major flesh missing from her foot," said Rebecca Jarrett.
The initial confusion even had family friends unsure about what was going on.
But moments after Lawrence's 9-year-old brother, Tray, pulled his sister from the ocean, everyone immediately assumed a shark was responsible.
"Couple of bites. One initial and then another on the top of her foot. Laid it open," said Tim Weir, an eyewitness and family friend. "Thank God it didn't bite her foot off."
Brevard's chief lifeguard is skeptical because he says conditions weren't right.
"There were no fishermen in the immediate area, birds are usually flapping in the area and baitfish, [but] that wasn't present either," said Wyatt Wernth, the county's chief lifeguard.
He says it could have been debris or some other sea life.
This was to be just a quick one-day excursion to the beach for the Lawrences between visits to Disney. But now they're keeping clear of the ocean.
"They were gonna surf all day today. And we won't be surfing today," Weir, a family friend, said.
Lawrence is in fair condition at Arnold Palmer Hospital.


http://www.icflorida.com/partners/wftv/news/story2.html
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