# Recent Shark Attack!



## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

I heard this on the news and don't believe anyone has posted it yet....:blink:

05/09/2012 - Karin Ulrike Stei - Florida
by alb » Thu May 10, 2012 8:53 am

German tourist attacked by shark off Vero Beach in serious condition after surgery

VERO BEACH, Fla. — A swimmer visiting from Germany was bitten by a shark late Wednesday morning north of Humiston Park, according to fire rescue officials.

Karin Ulrike Stei, 47, of Konstanz, Germany, was flown to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, authorities said.

The shark bite took a large section of Stei’s upper left thigh down to the bone, according to lifeguard Erik Toomsoo, who brought the woman in to shore.

She was out of surgery as of 7 p.m. and listed in serious condition, according to Ginger King, hospital spokeswoman, Wednesday night.

According to police, Karin Stei and friend Brigitte Schmid were swimming in waist-deep water when the incident occurred. Stei was approximately 30 yards from the shore and Schmid was approximately 20 to 25 yards from the shore when Stei was bitten.

Schmid told investigators she was not aware that Stei was in danger until she heard her yell “Shark.” She turned to look at her friend and saw blood in the water near her. There were no other witnesses to the incident.

Toomsoo, the on-duty lifeguard at Humiston on Wednesday, said he was standing on the boardwalk steps when he said he heard a woman yell “Help, Shark!” at about 11:30 a.m.

He saw a woman in a “pool of blood” about 30 yards out from the Driftwood Resort, he said.

Toomsoo ran down and swam out to the woman, yelling to people on shore to call 911 as he brought Stei to shore. Many of the people who had heard the woman’s screams were already on the phone calling, including Lisa Fioretto from Palm City, who heard the yells as she was videotaping her son skim boarding nearby.

Some construction workers and others came down to assist Toomsoo as he reached shore, including lifeguards Jordan Farrow and Shanna Beard.

“These guys went right in,” said Gloria Shire, who was on the beach with her husband, Jim. “They didn’t care if there was a shark in the water.”

Jim Shire said he was just sitting back getting ready to read the paper when all of a sudden he heard Stei “yelling, screaming for help.”

The Shires have been coming down from Milwaukee to a time share they have at the resort for 31 years, and this is the first time they have seen anything like they witnessed Wednesday.

“It’s so upsetting to actually see that happen,” said Gloria Shire.

The Shires don’t go into the water except to wade, but others who normally swim out there were having second thoughts about re-entering the ocean anytime soon.

“I used to go in there every now and then, but I’m not going anymore,” said John Rodighiero, an Illinois visitor who was sitting near the Shires when he also heard Stei screaming.

Among those who came to offer assistance were construction workers Scott Weston and Michael Curran.

“I heard a woman yelling, screaming and saw a black cloud around her,” said Curran, who was working on an upper floor of the Driftwood Resort.

Curran and others described the women as back-paddling from the cloud, or trail, of blood.

Curran at first couldn’t make out the yells and thought it may have been someone playing, but hurried down as soon as he realized she was in distress. His uncle, Scott Weston, jumped in to help Toomsoo pull the woman to shore while Curran called for assistance.

Off-duty lifeguard Beard, who also is a registered nurse, was sunbathing with her mom when she heard the commotion. All three lifeguards worked to stabilize Stei until emergency workers arrived.

Toomsoo said the woman was in shock but never lost consciousness. She was awake, alert and able to speak, Beard said.

“She’s a very strong-willed woman,” Beard said.

Toomsoo said people at the hotel provided assistance, and police and Indian River County paramedics arrived quickly.

A Martin County Fire Rescue LifeStar helicopter was in the area, coming back from an operational visit at the Sebastian River Medical Center, when one of the flight paramedics saw the trail of blood in the water and had the helicopter swing back around, he said.

“Everybody seemed to be in right place at the right time,” Toomsoo said of rescuers.

Stei and Schmid are from Konstanz, Germany, and are visiting a friend in Vero Beach, police said.

Toomsoo, who was being hailed as a hero, said “I was just doing my job. I just hope she’s all right.”

City lifeguards told people to stay out of the water Wednesday, but Recreation Director Rob Slezak said beachgoers should be allowed to enter water Thursday. He advised that people should swim only in areas where lifeguards are present.

Toomsoo described the attack as a “freak accident,” saying that there have been pods of bait fish in the area with sharks following, but there have been no more sharks than usual.

“It just picked her for some reason,” said Toomsoo of the shark.

It was not known what type of shark might have bitten Stei. Slezak said it likely was not a blacktip shark — commonly seen in the area — but which typically don’t get bigger than 6 feet. “It was likely something larger,” he said.


Read more: http://www.wptv.com/


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## skullworks (Oct 2, 2007)

Dang!


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## MULLET HUNTER (Oct 3, 2007)

Double dang....


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## Play'N Hooky Too (Sep 29, 2007)

_"Civilization ends at the waterline. Past that point we all enter the food chain"_
Hunter S. Thompson


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Play'N Hooky said:


> _"Civilization ends at the waterline. Past that point we all enter the food chain"_
> Hunter S. Thompson


Exactly!:blink::thumbsup:


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## Gamefish27 (Nov 13, 2009)

may sound silly... but we fish these waters and I know what is in there.. I do not swim in them.... Sorry to hear about this ordeal


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## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

Gamefish27 said:


> may sound silly... but we fish these waters and I know what is in there.. I do not swim in them.... Sorry to hear about this ordeal


Yep. I will swim in the stuff that is clear. Otherwise, all bets are off.

I was in the water in Belhaven, NC with a friend at his family's cottage. Drunk and swimming at 3 AM. He was five feet from me and got bowled over by something that was big and interested. Needless to say, we got on the dock as quickly as we could.


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## FelixH (Sep 28, 2007)

I'm a diver, and a spearfisher, and I've had several shark encounters while diving... it doesn't stop me from diving, and it doesn't stop me from shooting fish when I dive.

But, I won't swim at the beach! When I'm underwater, I can see what's around me and, at least try to, fend off a shark. Swimming in the surf, I just feel like bait. No thanks!!


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## Jaw Jacker (Jul 29, 2009)

I hate it for the tourist. To bad it wasn't the tree huger's or Guy Harvey(who put up big money) to pass the regulations to stop the harvest of Tigers, Hammerheads & Lemons Sharks.


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## Welchy (Jun 10, 2011)

I agree with FelixH. I will dive, but only get about knee deep at the beach.


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## knot @ Work (Apr 18, 2012)

Only go in to pee...
to much beer usually...


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## Crab Man (Oct 21, 2011)

I stopped getting in the water after the first time I saw a shark "lit up" and actually moving around fast in a feeding freenzy. Usually they just swim around all lazy, but once they get in the mood they can go nuts and start bitting anything in the water that moves.


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## GASeminole (Aug 15, 2011)

East Coast, especially New Smyrna, is infamous for shark attacks. 

When I was at FSU we went to Jax and to New Smyrna to go surfing. 

I got bumped in the leg more than once while waiting on a set. That's when you take the next wave no matter how small and call it a day!


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## evan (May 11, 2012)

Jaw Jacker said:


> I hate it for the tourist. To bad it wasn't the tree huger's or Guy Harvey(who put up big money) to pass the regulations to stop the harvest of Tigers, Hammerheads & Lemons Sharks.


:001_huh:

I had to sign up for the forum after browsing a long time to comment on this....

IF there were more big tigers and hammerheads there would be less bull sharks... which are the sharks which attack people.... Tigers and big hammerheads and big makos play an important role in the ecosystem of the gulf...you can't just kill them all. I'd put a lot of money on the bet that it was not a tiger or a hammerhead which hit this woman...


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## Razzorduck (Oct 22, 2007)

Surely a Bull Shark. Unless its clear I'm not real keen on beach swimming myself.


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## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

Only way I get in the water is on my boat.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

99.9% of the time, it's a tourist that gets bit.


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## jopa (Mar 31, 2012)

Is there a certin time these attacks happen and are most of them at the beach..
jopa


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## Burnt Drag (Jun 3, 2008)

If you don't know it's going to happen and even if you do and you have no pointed object like a knife, speargun, or pole spear, there's nothing you can do about it. Been there, done that. @ 90'.


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## Christophi (Apr 26, 2012)

Yep, that's why I never go to the beach anymore unless I'm fishing. I remember the first day I got my pole spear I was going to go out to the sandbar off Johnson Beach. I got about waist deep and saw a >6ft shadow coming straight at me, it u-turned about a foot before it hit my spear but needless to say I did a Jesus walk all the way back to the sand.


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## OP-FOR (Jan 23, 2010)

Enjoy the beach and the water but, never ever go to the second sand bar. There be danger in those shallow waters.


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

I was a beach bum when I was young. I used to love an swim with the dolphin and sand sharks between sandbars until once on the way to the 2nd sandbar I looked down and had about a 8ft bullshark swimming under me and tracking my pace. Then once 60 miles out of Orange beach diving off a 32ft Chris Craft and going down about 20ft in 300+ft of water I saw what looked to be a damn near 20ft shadow. A few minutes later we started trolling an I was walking around the half foot ledge to the bow I looked down to see the monster shark running along side the boat and looking up at me. That was enough for me. I didn't go back in the water for 20yrs. Went in to show my scared son that it was okay and nothing to be afraid of :whistling:
Haven't been back in since then :no:


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

Play'N Hooky said:


> _"Civilization ends at the waterline. Past that point we all enter the food chain"_
> Hunter S. Thompson


Great quote.....hope she pulls through


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

Read everyone's comments about not swimming, etc. Statistically you are more likely to sink on your next fishing trip than get bitten by a shark. I have been surfing and seen sharks, see them from the beach while surf fishing, etc. Still swim with no worries. If it is your time, it is your time and if I am unlucky enough to be the one in a million that gets bit so be it I still enjoy swimming in the surf.


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

sniperpeeps said:


> Read everyone's comments about not swimming, etc. Statistically you are more likely to sink on your next fishing trip than get bitten by a shark. I have been surfing and seen sharks, see them from the beach while surf fishing, etc. Still swim with no worries. If it is your time, it is your time and if I am unlucky enough to be the one in a million that gets bit so be it I still enjoy swimming in the surf.


When I moved here in the 80's, I use to dive (snorkel) about every weekend (up until late 80's). I can't say how many times I'd go past the 2nd sandbar and into 30-35 feet of water. Believe it or not, I NEVER saw a "real" shark. Only shark I saw was skate type sharks. I believe my luck would change ifin I'd go back out there now.:blink:


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## marmidor (Mar 15, 2008)

sniperpeeps said:


> Read everyone's comments about not swimming, etc. Statistically you are more likely to sink on your next fishing trip than get bitten by a shark. I have been surfing and seen sharks, see them from the beach while surf fishing, etc. Still swim with no worries. If it is your time, it is your time and if I am unlucky enough to be the one in a million that gets bit so be it I still enjoy swimming in the surf.


My thoughts also! If it's your turn to go, its your turn. Swim enjoy the beautiful waters!!


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

Well said sniperpeeps! I am blown away at all the pussy-footin going on in this thread. Car accidents can, and often do, cause far more gruesome injuries/deaths than shark attacks. On top of that, they are FAR more common. Anybody gonna give up driving any time soon? I will not fear these waters which I so dearly love. Big ole bull shark comes along and bites my head off...so be it. Better that dying in a hospital bed from high blood pressure, cancer, etc.


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## Charlie2 (Oct 2, 2007)

*Wading/Swimming with the Sharks*

First; I hope that the tourist lady gets well.



Christophi said:


> Yep, that's why I never go to the beach anymore unless I'm fishing. I remember the first day I got my pole spear I was going to go out to the sandbar off Johnson Beach. I got about waist deep and saw a >6ft shadow coming straight at me, it u-turned about a foot before it hit my spear but needless to say I did a Jesus walk all the way back to the sand.


That's exactly where I got 'educated'.

I used to swim/wade out to the second bar at Johnson's Beach and fish with a short rod. From time to time, a shark would take my bait bag when I'd just let it take it; I tied it on with a slip knot to facilitate its removal.

One day, a shark grabbed me by the leg. It held on while it was bleeding. Right then, I promised then that if the shark let me go, that I'd never again molest or harm it or its progeny.

It let me go and I literally walked back to the beach. There were puncture wounds to the bone, but no flesh was missing. I wrapped my leg and drove home. I soaked the punctures with alcohol and peroxide and wrapped them They healed with a slight soreness to this day.

My promise to the Shark Gods still stands. I bought long rods and now fish from dry sand. 

That adage about becoming part of the food chain is very close and personal.C2


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## Choozee (Jun 12, 2010)

knot @ Work said:


> Only go in to pee...
> to much beer usually...


First of all, cool handle, [email protected] Work and secondly thanks for bring a chuckle to my Sunday morning. Lastly I do not pay sharks much mind and they do not dictate when I decide to swim. I figure if fate depicts I get bit by a shark, struck by lightning, or carried away in a tornado, then ka-ser-ra-ser-ra

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

If you are attacked by a shark, stick your thumb/fingers into its eyes, its most sensitive part. If it comes after you again, stick your stumps into its eyes.....


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