Re: 06/20/2008 Jennifer Castion ( Florida )
Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:15 pm
Shark bite reported at Fernandina Beach
Posted: Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
An apparent shark bite in chest-deep waters off Fernandina Beach has authorities taking extra measures to alert beach-goers to potential risks.
Jennifer Castion of Birmingham, Ala., received severe lacerations to both sides of her lower right calf about 11 a.m. Friday, according to the Fernandina Beach Police Department. She was wading in the ocean around beach access No. 39 at Ozello Avenue near the golf club.
She was flown via air ambulance to Shands Jacksonville hospital, according to Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Bunch.
Bunch said the woman told him she felt something grab her leg in chest-high water. After a struggle, it let her leg go.
Once ashore, her husband wrapped her leg in a towel, took her to the nearby beach house they were staying at and called 911, Bunch said. She never lost consciousness and was “remarkably calm,” he said.
Her condition was not available. A nursing supervisor said she wasn’t listed in the hospital’s system early Friday evening.
Florida’s Flag Warning System is in place and “Dangerous Conditions” and “Dangerous Marine Life” flags have been placed at all guarded areas. Location supervisors are patrolling the beaches to alert visitors and advise them to use caution or elect not to swim.
The Police Department also conducted air surveillance the length of Amelia Island. Police Capt. David Bishop reported seeing no evidence of sharks, although the ocean water was relatively clear.
The local Civil Air Patrol has been asked to keep an eye on the shoreline throughout the weekend. Life guards also will monitor the water and report any changes.
If confirmed as a shark bite, Bunch said it would become only the third such incident in Fernandina Beach since the 1890s.
http://news.jacksonville.com/justin/200 ... ina-beach/
Posted: Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
An apparent shark bite in chest-deep waters off Fernandina Beach has authorities taking extra measures to alert beach-goers to potential risks.
Jennifer Castion of Birmingham, Ala., received severe lacerations to both sides of her lower right calf about 11 a.m. Friday, according to the Fernandina Beach Police Department. She was wading in the ocean around beach access No. 39 at Ozello Avenue near the golf club.
She was flown via air ambulance to Shands Jacksonville hospital, according to Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Bunch.
Bunch said the woman told him she felt something grab her leg in chest-high water. After a struggle, it let her leg go.
Once ashore, her husband wrapped her leg in a towel, took her to the nearby beach house they were staying at and called 911, Bunch said. She never lost consciousness and was “remarkably calm,” he said.
Her condition was not available. A nursing supervisor said she wasn’t listed in the hospital’s system early Friday evening.
Florida’s Flag Warning System is in place and “Dangerous Conditions” and “Dangerous Marine Life” flags have been placed at all guarded areas. Location supervisors are patrolling the beaches to alert visitors and advise them to use caution or elect not to swim.
The Police Department also conducted air surveillance the length of Amelia Island. Police Capt. David Bishop reported seeing no evidence of sharks, although the ocean water was relatively clear.
The local Civil Air Patrol has been asked to keep an eye on the shoreline throughout the weekend. Life guards also will monitor the water and report any changes.
If confirmed as a shark bite, Bunch said it would become only the third such incident in Fernandina Beach since the 1890s.
http://news.jacksonville.com/justin/200 ... ina-beach/