Fatal shark attack in Walton County, FL

[iceangel]

I believe a Bull shark is what attacked little Jessie Arbogast several years ago.............He is still recovering slowly...don't know that he will ever completely get back to an independent person that requires no care. I know his family hasn't given up and they go to therapy every day and he goes to a special "school" in the mornings.

Mary

Arbogast is said to still be in a wheelchair, and has trouble speaking.

[Lindaloo]

Once while swimming at Atlantic Beach, NC several years ago I was chest deep into the water...there was a pier with peeps fishing off of it and bringing in flounder...never thought about a shark possibly coming near any of us swimmers and thankfully none ever did...but a story like this makes one really think about the risks and with fishing going on.

Eric

This is what happened to little Jesse. Although, he was only in 3 feet of water. He was playing near the fishing pier at dusk.

Even though you may think you never saw a shark I can assure you one saw you. Statistics show that if you have ever swam in the ocean you have come within 15 feet of a shark. Plus, if you have seen what I have seen swimming the Pensacola beach shoreline you will never swim there again.

[fwbbreeze]

I have lived on the beach my whole life (31 years) and been swimming in the gulf more times than I can count. I have on numerous occasions seen or been told of sharks in the area. Its a risk you take when you go into their domain. However I do feel the risk for this type of attack is greater the farther out you venture and by all accounts these two girls had made it out quite some ways. Hurricane Ivan did change the shape of the shoreline, however there are still two distinguished sand bars and they were by all accounts on the other side of the second one. The water has to be 15 -20 feet deep there and it is just like a feeding tunnel for fish....always has been. With so many people venturing into the water I am surprised it is not a more common occurance.

so sad

fwbbreeze

[Skywatch_NC]

Autopsy Scheduled For 14-Year-Old Shark Attack Victim

POSTED: 9:46 am EDT June 27, 2005
UPDATED: 10:01 am EDT June 27, 2005

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- An autopsy will be performed Monday on the 14-year-old girl who was killed by a shark on Saturday.

Beaches reopened Sunday with extra lifeguards along a stretch of the Florida Panhandle coast where the attack occurred. Coastal residents reported seeing at least one shark hunting fish close to shore.

Jamie Marie Daigle of Gonzales, La., was swimming on a boogie board with her friend Felicia Venable at least 100 yards from shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

One of the rescuers said he heard screams for help and saw Daigle's boogie board -- but no rider. He rushed into the water and found the unconscious girl being towed by a surfer on his board. With help from other swimmers, they brought Daigle to shore in a raft with the shark underfoot. Venable swam to shore.

The surfer who brought the unconscious girl to shore said she had been swimming far out in an area unprotected by sandbars or lifeguards. He said he saw a shark fin but didn't think much of it because that was a fairly common sight when surfing. Then, he heard the girl scream and went to help her. He said the shark was aggressive and that it was like being locked in a yard with a vicious dog. He said when he went to help the girl, he had expected that the shark would have been gone, since that's the norm when sharks attack humans. But he said this shark was vicious and continued to attack and pursue him all the way to shore. He said the shark appeared to be about 8 feet long. He said it was the most aggressive shark he had ever seen and believes it was a bull shark.

As a memorial for Daigle, a boogie board, a magnolia and painted sand dollars were placed under a green tent. Someone had written "Bless U" in the sand. Jamie was vacationing with friends while the rest of her family was home.

Police said they have invited a shark expert to attend the autopsy to help determine the type and size of the shark involved.

A 20-mile stretch of shore was closed to swimmers following the attack. However, the area was reopened Sunday with a double staff of sheriff's beach patrol officers on duty. More sharks were sighted.

http://www.wral.com/news/4655046/detail.html

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc.

[PTrackerLA]

This is terrible tragedy and my heart goes out to her family. I have swam the waters of the Florida panhandle countless times, but have thankfully never seen a shark in the water. A few years back I was on a raft with my nephew and I turned to the side and saw a huge sea turtle 5 feet away, scared the **** outta me but I knew it was harmless. To think as a kid we would spend hours on end in the gulf swimming and horsing around, I would never let my child do that today. Seems like the longer you stay in the water the more your chances of an attack go up, or at least that's the way I see it.

[cajungal]

Why did a funny feeling come over me that the girl was from Louisiana? I had the feeling come over me before I even read the news article. Now, it really hits close to home. Gonzales is just south of Baton Rouge. It is barely an hour drive from me. I feel so much pain for the family and community. I am really scared to go swimming in the Gulf now. I doubt if I will even want to get in the water when I go to Destin in August. I only feel safe in the swimming pool now.