Frantic 911 call as girl, 9, is mauled by shark that ripped off her hand as onlookers screamed ‘it's circling in water'
TERRIFYING 911 audio has revealed the moment a brave nine-year-old-girl was rescued following a gruesome shark attack.
Petrified visitors to a popular family beach screamed as the predator circled in the water after it savaged Leah Lendel 's arm.
5
5
The mauling happened on Wednesday while Leah was snorkeling in shallow water, nearly tearing her hand off in Boca Grande in Florida.
Her right hand was covered in blood, turning the sea red after she was bitten by the 8ft-long predator - reportedly a bull shark.
First responders were quickly alerted by two 911 callers, reported Fort Myers News-Press.
In one call, a stressed man can be heard telling the operator that the girl's "arm was completely destroyed."
The man told the 911 dispatcher, 'I'm on Boca Grande right now… I need a medical service ASAP, there's a shark.'
She asked, 'I'm sorry, there's what?'
He repeated, 'A shark.'
When asked whether anyone had been injured by the shark, he confirmed, 'Yes, yes, a shark bit the arm of the little kid, really bad.'
After the dispatcher confirmed that help was on the way, he was asked whether the girl was 'safe and out of water?"
The caller replied that she was 'out of water but she got the arm completely destroyed. She is safe out of the water, yes. She is nine years old, a girl.'
Girl, 9, mauled by shark at popular US beach as horrified parents hear her screams and watch water turn red with blood
After being told to tell everyone helping the victim that help was on the way, the dispatcher asked him whether Leah was awake, and breathing. He replied, 'She is awake, yes, she is breathing.'
He also confirmed that she had suffered serious bleeding.
When asked whether the blood was 'spurting or pouring out" he replied, 'Yes, we've got a towel on it.
"She is responding normally, she is scared, it's her hand, the whole wrist.'
He was also asked whether Leah's arm was 'bent out of shape' to which he replied, 'It's a little bit, yes, we've put it together under the towel."
Statement from Leah Lendel's family following the nine-year-old's shark attack
Nine-year-old Leah experienced a terrifying and life-altering event. Her family has issued the following statement following the suspected bull shark attack in Boca Grande, Florida:
"We want to say Thank You to everyone that is praying for our sweet Leah.
"We are thankful for the quick response of everyone that was on scene, the construction workers, residents that ran out to help and the first responders and to all the Doctors/Nurses that are doing everything to help our girl.
"Yesterday Leah had an extensive surgery on her hand (wrist & fingers).
"The Doctors, were able to get blood flow to her hand and fingers.
"She is showing some movement in two fingers but can't feel the rest.
"The doctors will be doing another procedure tomorrow to see if there is anything else that needs to be done.
"The fact that Leah has all her fingers attached is already a testimony.
"From witnessing her wrist hanging on by just the skin, to have blood flow in all of her hand and fingers is truly a miracle.
"Please keep praying for our family, our God is a miracle worker."
The dispatcher immediately stressed that those giving Leah first aid should not lift the towel to check the wound, for fear it would result in further blood loss.
He was told to use the towel to 'press down firmly on the wound, don't lift up to look, OK?' He confirmed they were following the instructions.
He also confirmed Leah's bleeding was 'not under control, but we've got it in the towel right now."
Within about four minutes of his frantic call, responders from the Boca Grande Fire Department had arrived at the scene.
5
5
Incredibly, in an update on the attack, Leah's family has said that surgeons were able to repair her hand, but she faces further operations.
Asking for people's "prayers", they said in a statement, "The doctors, were able to get blood flow to her hand and fingers."
Leah has already regained minor finger movement after the surgeons used pins and arteries from her leg, after being airlifted to a trauma center in Tampa.
She underwent an initial six-hour surgery.
IN SHOCK
Her family told NBC affiliate WBBH that Leah's mom had been just 4 feet away with her two toddlers, said she noticed the girl's hand covered in blood and mostly torn off.
Leah - in a "state of shock", according to family - somehow managed to walk out of the water by herself.
Nearby construction workers taking a lunch break at the beach then wrapped her hand to stop the blood.
Max Derinskiy, an uncle of Leah's, said, "The doctors were able to do some miracles and put her hand back together.
"She will be in the hospital for a while and then a lot of physical therapy to hopefully get her hand functioning again."
BLOOD FLOW
Leah's mother, Nadia Lendel, told WBBH, "They had to get arteries from her leg to the hand.
"Got the blood flow back to her hand. Install pins in bones. Still has open tissues.
"They will be monitoring her here for a week. But thank God she can move her fingers.'
Nadia, an Instagram blogger with around 100,000 followers, posted following the attack, "Please keep our family in your prayers. Leah got bit by a shark today while snorkeling.
"She has to get airlifted to the hospital and is undergoing surgery."
Eyewitness Raynel Lugo said that he had called 911.
SHARK CIRCLING
He told CBS-affiliate WINK, "We heard somebody screaming 'help, help, help.'
"I saw a shark right on top of... the little kid."
Her injured hand "was just hanging by this piece… the whole thing was completely hanging out.
"I have a daughter, nine-years-old, same age. She was brave," he added.
Leah's dad had been snorkeling nearby and swam to shore, and with the help of the builders, they made a tourniquet out of a towel to help save her, the family said.
LIFE-ALTERING
The girl's family has launched an online fundraiser to help her recovery, which has already received more than $30,000 in donations.
Their GoFundMe page says, "On what was supposed to be a fun and sunny day at the beach in Boca Grande, 9-year-old Leah experienced a terrifying and life-altering event.
"While playing in the water with her siblings, she was bitten on her hand by a shark and had to be rushed to the hospital by Life Flight.
"We're thankful to Jesus for the quick response of emergency crews and the skill of the medical team."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Strangest last meals of the world's most evil men: From the killer who asked to eat dirt to the Nazi who wanted a cheese board and the murderer who wanted a single olive
Capital punishment is becoming increasingly rare in the 21st century. More than half of all nations have outright abolished the practice, as of 2024. A further 17% of countries around the world have all but banned it. This leaves just over a quarter of nations that continue to execute prisoners for their crimes. In almost all cases, only those who commit the most heinous of crimes are punished this way. But despite the barbarity of their crimes, many of the nations that still practice executions allow prisoners one final dignity before the end of their lives. Final meals are perhaps best thought of as symbolic of the life a person has led, or wanted to lead. In many cases, they come in the form of specially prepared meals that take prisoners back to a simpler time, before they bore the weight of their crimes on their shoulders. Sometimes, however, these meals can completely unexpected. From the murderer who requested a single olive in the hope he could grow a symbol of peace, to the Nazi who got a cheeseboard before facing justice, and the bizarre request of a killer who wanted a pound of dirt to get reincarnated, these are the strangest final meals ever requested by death row prisoners. James Edward Smith In April 1990, James Edward Smith was executed by lethal injection for murder. He was 37 years old. Smith fatally shot insurance executive Larry D. Rohus during a robbery inside a second-floor cashier's office near the Astrodome on March 7, 1983. During the jury selection for his trial in Texas, Smith attempted to escape and ran from the courthouse. He only made it a few blocks before he was captured and returned to custody. After being found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, Smith appealed the sentence. However, it was upheld by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1987. For his final meal, Smith initially requested a lump of rhaeakunda dirt. It was thought that the specific dirt was used in voodoo rituals, which Smith thought may assist him in reincarnation. However the Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied Smith's request - so he settled on a cup of yoghurt. His initial execution was scheduled for 1988; but this was pushed back when his mother's lawyers appealed for stay of execution. He was eventually executed in 1990. Adolf Eichmann Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust, was kidnapped by agents of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad from his Argentina bolthole in a daring mission in 1960. He was smuggled back to Israel to face justice for his horrific crimes. During the eight-month trial, his actions as the man who actively facilitated and managed to mass deportation of millions of Jewish people to ghettos and concentration camps across Europe were laid bare to the world. He showed no remorse for his actions, telling the court in his pardon plea: 'There is a need to draw a line between the leaders responsible and the people like me forced to serve as mere instruments in the hands of the leaders. 'I was not a responsible leader, and as such do not feel myself guilty.' For his crimes against humanity, he was sentenced to death by hanging. Despite his terrible actions during the Second World War, he was offered a chance to eat a special meal. Eichmann, however, declined this and instead asked to have a bottle of Carmel, a dry red Israeli wine, alongside the normal prison food of cheese, bread, olives and tea. But he reportedly only finished half of the bottle as he finished his meal on May 31 1962. He was hanged to death in a prison in Ramla, Israel, just a few minutes after midnight. Eichmann's final words, according to one witness, were: 'I hope that all of you will follow me.' Mathias Kneißl Mathias Kneißl was a German outlaw, poacher and popular social rebel in the Dachau district, in the Kingdom of Bavaria. He gained infamy in the region throughout his life for repeatedly humiliating the police, who were seen as corrupt. Kneißl began his career of crime at an early age, joining his brothers in their cattle poaching escapades before being jailed for the first time at the age of 16. Though he was eventually released, he was unable to hold legitimate jobs down and turned back to his life of crime. He committed several armed robberies, and was chased through the region for his crimes. In one arrest attempt which ended in a gun fight with police, he injured two policemen so badly that they later died from their injuries. Kneißl stayed on the run for another few months. Eventually, however, he was captured by a massive group of 60 policemen. During the ensuing gunfight, Kneißl was seriously injured after taking a bullet to his abdomen. He was charged with two murders, attempted murder, as well as armed robbery and extortion. The Court sentenced him to receive the death penalty for murder and 15 years imprisonment on the other charges. In 1902, he was sentenced to decapitation by guillotine. For his last meal he requested six glasses of beer. Ricky Ray Rector Ricky Ray Rector was an American murderer who was executed for the 1981 murder of police officer Bob Martin in Conway, Arkansas. After getting into a heated disagreement with his friend, a furious Rector pulled a gun on his friend and shot him in the throat and forehead, killing him almost instantly. He went on the run for several days, before his sister convinced him to turn himself in. He agreed, but said he would only do so to Bob Martin, a police officer he had known since he was a child. After Martin arrived at Rector's mother's home on March 24, Rector shot him in the jaw and neck before walking out of the home. After shooting Bob Martin, Rector attempted to take his own life by shooting himself in the head. The bullet wound, and subsequent surgery to remove the bullet from Rector's head resulted in a frontal lobotomy (the loss of a three-inch section of his brain), leaving him mentally impaired. In 1996 Rector was executed by lethal injection, however Rector seemed incapable of understanding his pending death sentence. For his last meal, he requested a steak, fried chicken, cherry Kool-Aid and a pecan pie. But he left the pecan pie he requested on the side of the tray, telling the guards who came to take him to the execution chamber that he was saving it 'for later'. Ronnie Lee Gardner Gardner ate a last meal of steak, lobster tail, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and 7-Up before beginning a 48-hour fast while watching The Lord of the Rings film trilogy Ronnie Lee Gardner was sentenced to death for the 1985 killing of attorney Michael Burdell during an attempted escape from a Salt Lake City courthouse. At the time of the murder, Gardner was in court, accused of killing Melvyn John Otterstrom during a 1984 robbery at a bar. Somehow, he had smuggled a revolver into the Metropolitan Hall of Justice at Salt Lake City. Officials believe he was surreptitiously handed the firearm as he was being escorted into the court from the underground car park. As he pulled the gun out, he was shot in the shoulder by armed guard Luther Hensley, before shooting unarmed bailiff George Kirk in the abdomen. This allowed him to run to the court's archive room, where he confronted two attorneys, Robert Macri and Michael Burdell. Gardner pulled the revolver up and pointed it at Macri, who was in court doing pro bono work for his church. Upon shooting him, he ran to the front of the building where he was confronted by dozens of officers. After a quarter of a century on death row, Gardner, 49, became the first man to die by firing squad in Utah in 14 years in 2010. He is the most recent person to be executed by this method. Gardner ate a last meal of steak, lobster tail, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and 7-Up before beginning a 48-hour fast while watching The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. His lawyers said that the fast was done for 'spiritual reasons', though did not explain why he watched the film adaptation of JRR Tolkien's classic trilogy. Thomas J Grasso Thomas J Grasso admitted murdering two elderly people six months apart. He strangled 85-year-old Hilda Johnson in 1990 with a set of Christmas tree lights in her own home, stealing $8 from her purse and $4 in loose change, along with a TV set that he fenced for $125. Six months later, after moving to New York, he killed Leslie Holtz in 1991, an 81-year-old man from whom he stole his social security cheque. His bizarre last meal request was for two dozen steamed mussels, two dozen steamed clams, a Burger King double cheeseburger, six barbecued spare ribs, two large milkshakes, a tin of SpaghettiOs with meatballs, half a pumpkin pie and strawberries and cream. Unfortunately, the length or complexity of his list seemed to confuse kitchen staff who made one crucial mistake. Less than an hour before he died, he issued his final statement to the world: 'I did not get my SpaghettiOs, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.' Victor Feguer Victor Feguer was a convicted murderer who became the last federal inmate to be executed by the United States in 1963. He was also the last person to be put to death in the state of Iowa. Originally from Michigan, he found himself in Iowa and was renting a small room in a dilapidated boarding house. His murder of Dr. Edward Bartels was the incident that landed him an execution by hanging. After falsely calling the doctor to his home by claiming a woman needed medical attention, he kidnapped him and smuggled him out of the state to Chicago. There, he is believed to have shot and killed the doctor in a cornfield, before leaving his body to rot. Investigators believed he kidnapped the tragic doctor to coerce him into giving him drugs used to treat patients. Feguer claimed that it was actually a Chicago drug addict, who he met on his way to Chicago, who murdered Bartels. But the judge overseeing the case did not believe him, and sentenced him to hang. For his final meal, he requested a single olive with the pit still inside. He told guards he hoped an olive tree would be grown from his grave 'as a sign of peace.'
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Trump makes major U-turn on mass deportation policy that could affect thousands of businesses across country
The Trump administration has for the first time pumped the brakes on its mass deportation agenda, telling ICE officials to pause raids on farms, hotels and restaurants, according to an internal email and three US officials familiar with the situation. The decision, as reported by The New York Times, comes after Trump made a rare acknowledgement that some of the deportations he's ordered has hurt industries in agricultural, hospitality and food sectors. 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,' he said in a Truth Social post on Thursday morning. 'We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!' he added. He further elaborated on these sentiments in a press conference later that same day. 'Our farmers are being hurt badly by, you know, they have very good workers, they have worked for them for 20 years,' he said. 'They're not citizens, but they've turned out to be, you know, great. And we're going to have to do something about that. We can't take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don't have maybe what they're supposed to have, maybe not,' he continued, adding that there would be an 'order' soon. The official order from Trump came on Thursday via an email sent by a senior ICE official, Tatum King, to regional leaders of the ICE department that generally carries out criminal investigations. This post on Truth Social is what got the ball rolling on the switch-up in strategy These investigations often lead to worksite raids, which have been happening in increasing frequency all over the country. These raids have led to nationwide anti-ICE protests, most notably in Los Angeles, where demonstrations have been going on for a week straight. 'Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,' King wrote in his message. King clarified that investigations 'human trafficking, money laundering, drug smuggling into these industries are OK.' The order instructed agents not to arrest 'noncriminal collaterals,' a seeming reference to illegal immigrants who have not committed any additional crimes. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the new guidance and said it would follow it. 'We will follow the president's direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America's streets,' Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokeswoman, said in a statement. This marks a huge departure in Trump's rhetoric, since over the last few months, he's advocated for deporting all illegal immigrants, regardless of their criminal record. Trump posted about his change of mind after Brooke Rollins, the secretary of agriculture, told him that farmers were concerned that ICE enforcement would negatively impact their businesses, a White House official and a person familiar told The Times. There are still officials within the administration who are more aligned with the idea of deporting as many migrants as possible. Chief among them is White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who has been advocating for a minimum of 3,000 arrests a day by ICE. ICE confirmed that Miller held a meeting with dozens of top directors and officials on May 20, where he reportedly 'came in there and eviscerated everyone.' According to the Washington Examiner, Miller allegedly told them: 'You guys aren't doing a good job. You're horrible leaders.' He then reportedly gave them an open challenge and asked: 'Why aren't you at Home Depot? Why aren't you at 7-Eleven?' ICE agents were reportedly surprised by the new guidance to limit raids on certain industries after weeks and months of being told to step it up. King said in his memo that the new rules would hamstring the administration's goals for higher numbers of arrests. 'We acknowledge that by taking this off the table, that we are eliminating a significant # of potential targets,' he wrote.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
US immigration officials told to largely pause raids on farms, hotels, NYT reports
June 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has told immigration officials to largely pause raids and arrests in the agricultural industry, hotels and restaurants, the New York Times reported on Friday. The report cited an internal email and three U.S. officials with knowledge of the guidance. "Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,' Tatum King, a senior official at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in guidance to regional leaders of the department, the Times added. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the guidance to the Times and said: 'We will follow the president's direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America's streets,' Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The White House and U.S. department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of regular business hours. The report comes after Trump said on Thursday he would issue an order soon to address the effects of his immigration crackdown on the country's farm and hotel industries, which rely heavily on migrant labor. U.S. farm industry groups have long wanted Trump to spare their sector from mass deportations, which could upend a food supply chain dependent on immigrants. Trump is carrying out his campaign promise to deport immigrants in the country illegally. But protesters and some Trump supporters have questioned the targeting of those who are not convicted criminals, including in places of employment such as those that sparked last week's protests in Los Angeles.
