Panama City Beach, Pla. — A Georgia couple had a close encounter with a shark at Panama City Beach just days after a woman and two teenagers were injured in back-to-back attacks in the same area.
Robert Cross, of Lawrenceville, shared video with Channel 2 Action News of the couple, identified as Jeremy and Leslie from Monroe, Georgia, scrambling to get out of the water as a shark circles feet from them.
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Cross said he believes it was a hammerhead shark that was going for a fish near the couple. The incident happened off Fountainbleau Terrace’s private beach. The video shows the shark hang around in the shallow water near the shore for several minutes.
Cross reported the encounter to the local wildlife department.
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On Friday, two teenage girls and a 45-year-old woman were the victims of back-to-back attacks in Walton County.
Around 1:20 p.m. the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said a 45-year-old woman was injured by a shark at Watersound Way, which is about halfway between Panama City Beach and Miramar Beach in the Florida Panhandle.
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“She received significant trauma to her mid-section and pelvic area, as well as amputation of her left lower arm,” the Walton County Fire Chief said. She’s been identified by family members as Elisabeth Foley, of Virginia.
At 2:56 p.m. Friday, emergency crews responded to an area of Seacrest Beach, where two teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 17 years old were injured.
One of the girls had significant injuries to “one upper and one lower extremity.” She was flown to the hospital in critical condition. The second girl, who has not been identified, had flesh wounds to her foot. She was taken to the hospital and is critical
The mother of one of the girls, 15-year-old Lulu Gribbin, said the shark bit her daughter’s left hand off and her right leg had to be amputated above the knee. Her friend, who hasn’t been identified, had flesh wounds to her foot.
Gribbin is awake and told her mother, “I made it” after the attacks.
The beaches in Walton County are currently flying purple flags to warn of dangerous marine life in the area. It’s unclear if one shark was responsible for all the attacks and sightings.
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