Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents News Articles on Shark Bites

Columbia girl bitten by shark recounts her experience

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WIS) - Authorities say a shark apparently bit a 17-year-old girl in knee-deep water off Litchfield Beach in Georgetown County.

Julianne Lenti said she thought she'd felt a crab at first, but when she felt teeth sink in, she knew it wasn't a crab's pincers.

"I started freaking out," Lenti said.

Lenti said it all happened in a matter of seconds when she was boogie boarding with her boyfriend, Mitchell.

Lenti was in knee-deep water, but she never got a clear view of the shark. However, she does remember the pain with distinct accuracy.

"It was really bad at first," Lenti said. "When they were cleaning it out, it was the worst."

Mitchell and his family helped to get Lenti out of the water and to the hospital.

"When I saw it, I was freaking out and people were closing my eyes because there was blood everywhere," Lenti said. "It was unbelievable to me."

Midway Fire Rescue spokesman Bob Beebe says no one saw the shark, but the marks left on the teen's foot are consistent with a shark bite.

Two days later, Lenti's outlook is already looking bright. The dozen or so stitches in her leg could be out in just a few days.

"Yeah it was definitely the scariest experience of my life, but i'm looking at the positive," Lenti said. "Could've been a lot worse."

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S ... v=0RaPRIMl

Possible shark bite reported on Litchfield beach
By Robert Morris - rmorris@thesunnews.com
A 17-year-old girl in knee-deep water at North Litchfield beach was bitten by what may have been a shark, authorities said.

"It looks like a shark bite, but nobody has actually confirmed it,'' said Lt. Jim Edwards, a watch commander with the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office.

The girl, a tourist from Columbia, was in relatively shallow water around 2 p.m. Saturday when her right foot was bitten, Edwards said. Though the injury has been described as relatively minor, the bite marks will likely require stitches, he noted.

While no one at the beach saw a shark, the marks on the girl's foot have the appearance of a shark bite, said Bob Beebe, spokesman for Midway Fire Rescue.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/b ... 10677.html

Girl may have been bitten by shark off SC beach
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. --Authorities say a shark apparently bit a 17-year-old girl in knee-deep water off Litchfield Beach in Georgetown County.

Sheriff's Lt. Jim Edwards tells The Sun News of Myrtle Beach that the girl from Columbia was bitten in the foot around 2 p.m. Saturday and will likely need stitches.

Midway Fire Rescue spokesman Bob Beebe says no one saw the shark, but the marks left on the teen's foot are consistent with a shark bite.

http://www.charlotte.com/205/story/701136.html