15 hours ago
'She got the arm completely destroyed': 911 call alerts of Boca Grande shark attack
One of two 911 callers frantically alerted authorities of a shark in the Boca Grande water and said they needed help "ASAP."
About noon June 11, Boca Grande Fire, along with the Lee County Sheriff's Office and Lee County EMS, responded to the 2200 block of Shore Lane when bystanders reported a shark attacked a 9-year-old girl.
Authorities said the swimmer was in the water on the beach when the incident happened.
More: 9-year-old girl injured in Florida shark attack. How to protect yourself in the water
A GoFundMe fundraiser identified the girl as 9-year-old Leah Lendel and within 24 hours raised more than $25,000 toward its $80,000 goal.
Two sharks have attacked Boca Grande beachgoers since C.W. Blosser became the Boca Grande Fire chief, the most recent just this week.
Blosser, who has been in the fire service for four decades and was hired as chief 16 years ago.
He added it is the first shark attack he responded to.
The first of two callers alerted of a shark nearby.
"We need medical services [as soon as possible]," a man said. "There's a shark in the water."
The dispatcher asked if anyone was injured.
"I need to know exactly what happened," the dispatcher said.
The caller replied that the attack affected the arm of a "little kid."
"She got the arm completely destroyed," the caller said. He added that the child was awake and breathing.
The caller said Lendel was responding normally, but she was scared. He told the dispatcher the attack affected "the whole wrist."
The dispatcher then instructed the caller to grab a towel and put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding.
"I need you to stay right with the child," the dispatcher said.
A second caller reached out to make sure dispatchers had the correct address. The specific location is redacted in the call recording, which lasted just more than 30 seconds.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@ or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Boca Grande shark attack: Authorities report two 911 calls
