A medical examiner later said that this incident was a drowning, not a shark attack. The case is under review. Click to read the follow-up story.
A Pittsburgh man whose body washed up along North Carolina's Outer Banks after he went for a late-night swim died from shark bites, a medical examiner determined Friday.
It was the first reported shark attack in the region in more than eight years.
The body of Richard A. Snead, 60, was discovered Thursday morning near the 1300 block of N. Virginia Dare Trail in Kill Devil Hills by a tourist who was taking a walk, police said.
Shark bites killed Snead, the regional medical examiner's office in Greenville, N.C., said Friday.
Snead suffered extensive injuries and there is no question that a shark attack caused his death, an autopsy assistant at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University said.
"Living tissues look different when they receive an injury, versus tissues that are already dead," she said.
Officials had not determined what type of shark might have attacked Snead, who was on vacation with his family when he went for a swim sometime after 9 p.m. off Corolla, about 30 miles north of Kill Devil Hills.
His family reported him missing about 12:45 a.m. Sunday. Red flags had been posted Saturday warning people to stay out of the water because of dangerous surf.
It is likely Snead was attacked near the area where he went swimming, said Lt. Jason Banks of the Currituck County Sheriff's Office, and the current carried his body south.
Swimmers were warned Friday to be alert, "and to be aware that this incident occurred while the person was swimming at night," a sheriff's statement said. Snead had gone into the water at mile post 4-1/2; the mile posts are measured beginning at the Currituck County-Dare County line.
"I haven't heard of any (shark) sightings, but I haven't checked with any other jurisdictions," Currituck County Sheriff Susan Johnson said. The drowning of a 12-year-old boy late last month did not appear to be shark-related, she added.
Johnson said she couldn't recall any recent shark bites.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that a woman who answered the phone Friday at the Snead residence and identified herself only as Snead's wife said he worked as an engineer and that he is survived by two grown children and one grandchild.
"He was a good man," she said. "He was a good father."
Last year, 41 shark attacks were recorded in the United States. One was fatal, said Maylon White, the director of exhibits and animal husbandry at the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach.
"Shark attacks are really a fairly rare event when you consider how many people... go swimming," he said. "There's very little chance of something like this, as tragic as it is, happening to an individual."
For safety, swimmers should not swim alone and should avoid swimming at twilight or at night, he said. That's when sharks look for food.
"They don't look to humans for food, but if we happen to get in the way, then we suffer the consequences."
The last reported shark attacks in Virginia or the Outer Banks were in September 2001, when two people were killed and a third was hurt.
On Sept. 1, 2001, David Peltier, 10, was surfing with his family at Sandbridge in Virginia Beach when a shark bite severed an artery and he died. It was the first fatality recorded by a shark attack in Virginia and the first that year in the United States.
Experts said David could have been bitten by a bull shark because of the location and time of year that the attack occurred.
Two days after David's death, Sergei Zaloukaev, 28, was swimming with his girlfriend off Avon, N.C., when they were attacked by a shark. Zaloukaev was killed, but Natalia Slobodskaya survived.
Experts said the couple could have been bitten by a tiger shark or bull shark.
The attacks set off a wave of shark hysteria. But in 2002, a study released by University of Florida researchers showed that attacks in 2001 actually decreased from the year before.
News researcher Jakon Hays contributed to this report.
Cindy Clayton, (757) 446-2377, cindy.clayton@pilotonline.com
Patrick Wilson, (757) 446-2957, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com
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Such a professional moron ...
..."asking for it", are you serious?! Do you know how dangerous it is to simply get into an automobile? Do you know just how high your chances of dying are by running your fat mouth? Does that mean your "asking for it". I know the family well so I am, of course, repelled by your ignorance. You are as ugly as the wild pigs that out kill sharks by scores each and every year. Statistically every time you get into an automobile you are risking your pathetic life miles over going for a 7:30pm dip in the ocean. Mr. Snead was a great man who loved the outdoors. He was NOT a risk taker, he was a great father, and grandfather. Have some decency. In the future keep your horrible opinions to yourself. I am a former Marine, does that mean anyone who joins the military is "asking for it" too? Remember, we keep the rocks in your head safe. Before responding with your posterior, please THINK a little! This is such a rare tragedy. In the future, spend your time looking out for lightning, meteors, and Marines, before insulting an innocent family.
Basking shark!
Dude a Basking shark is a PLANKTON FEEDER! I`ll also tell you about sightings from aircraft! I caught 165 one year and they look so much like a shark in the water and so many people misidentify them as such. And that is cobia! I too have been in helos and small planes, and during May, june and july cobia swim just below the surface and look like a brown shark. Other fishermen on here that have seen and caught them will tell you the exact same thing. Maybe all you saw were sharks, but maybe not all!
The REAL story on sharks in the Bay. . .
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/InNews/ches2007.html
More perspective. . .
Sharks have more to fear from humans than the other way around. Due to idiots "sport fishing" and the far East's disgusting love of "Fin Soup" their numbers are dwindling very low, in fact, some like the Great White may not recover due to breeding at a very mature age, and few pups surviving.
we go in to their teritory
I would 1st like to offer my condolences to the family for their tragic loss, our prayers are with u...2ndly i would advise all visitors /tourists to check with the locals to avoids all the do's and dont's while in the area, not just related to the ocean and its riptides and sharks, , but also to the seedy places that only the locals know about..We down south here and are more than willing to advise outoftowners what to do and what no to do...... at least in my household.... once again we offer our condolences to the family... Possibly your loss, and the awareness put in these postings may prevent another loss such as this!
I agree. . .
"As a charter boat capt here for nearly 24 yrs. My first guess would be a Bull shark. Very aggressive and very common in very shallow water."
A bull is most like the one. They have the highest testosterone level of ANY ANIMAL on earth. They love shallow water, brackish water and even freshwater. In fact the mouth of the Mississippi is one place mothers deliver their pups.
For a Little Perspective.............
In the United States Pittbulls routinly Kill and Injure more people than all Shark Species combined.
Some facts
There are 26 breeds of dog commonly mistaken as Pit Bulls and as a result, Pit Bulls are often blamed when not even involved. In the past 37 years, 342 children have been killed by dog attacks (all breeds of dog included). That's 9 children a year killed by dogs. 1,100 children each year are killed by their PARENTS. Breed ban mongers ought to consider this information. In regards to the shark issue, even wild pigs kill more people each year than sharks. Talk about trying to write a slanted comment!!
Huh
Really..... that is a ridiculus statement, sharks do not live on land, not everyone who lives near the ocean swims in the ocean, some people live there entire life and never see the ocean. pitbulls do not routinely kill unless 104 deaths (http://www.dogbitelaw.com/Dog%20Attacks%201982%20to%202006%20Clifton.pdf) from 1982-2006 is routine. simple research dude, simple. you live in fear of pitbulls and that is sad. (In 2007 there were 33 fatal dog attacks in the USA. Most of the victims who receive medical attention are children, half of whom are bitten in the face). if there were 74.8 million sharks living on land, sharks would win hands down. there was one fatal dog attack in va in 2007. run for life.
in the bay?
Are there sharks in the chesapeake bay area, like chix beach? I never hear of shark attacks or sightings there
Yup.
Yup. They're sure are. Lots of em. This past July a 6-foot tiger shark was caught in the middlegrounds of the Chesapeake. Google "tiger shark chesapeake bay," and you'll see what I mean. Also, according to commenters in Virginia Beach Sportsfishing, 200lb bull sharks were caught in pound nets set around Kiptopeake around that same time. I wouldn't doubt these same sharks would be around the mouth of the Bay and off the coast of VA Beach. VA's part of the Bay (the lower bay) is also a major nursery for sandbar sharks, which can often be caught off Buckroe Beach Fishing Pier. Blacktip sharks (and others) can be caught off the VA Beach coast. As I said before, though, sandbar sharks and blacktips are two relatively timid and harmless species of shark. Sharks are everywhere, and they always have been. Just follow the rules the Pilot and other commenters have listed, and you should be safe.
Chesapeake Bay
Yes...there are sharks in the Bay!
Huge !
Back in the eighties I used to do traffic reports for a local radio station. One afternoon we were flying along the ocean front near Dam Neck and I saw a shadow in the water several hundred yards from the shore. I first thought it was a large school of fish or a sea turtle. We flew over it and to my surprise it was a shark basking near the surface. I had to admit is was a beautiful creature with dark bands across it's back and it was at least twelve feet long. It was just as if it were sunbathing not bothering anyone. I looked towards the beach only several hundred yards away and people were swimming in the surf obviously unaware of this giant lounging just out of sight. I always think about that every time I go into the water. That shark could easily gulp down an unsuspecting swimmer. Fortunately for us, they are usually inclined to avoid people.
Thank you for that post.
Thank you for that post.
I have a few guesses what it was
As a charter boat capt here for nearly 24 yrs. My first guess would be a Bull shark. Very aggressive and very common in very shallow water. I have seen8 footers right in in the slough when you walk into the water. 2nd guess would be a tiger. I know other have posted that they like deep water, true, BUT! The Russians attacked in Avon yrs ago was a tiger and we have seen them very close to the beach in the daytime, so at night even closer. One that I have not seen mentioned, a Lemon shark, big, and feed very close to shore at nite! Not knowing what the bite radius was or the shape it`s all guessing! I tiger bite may be more easy to ID because of the shear width to depth.
One common sense piece of advice.
DON'T SWIM IN THE OCEAN AT NIGHT.
I don't care how good of a swimmer you THINK you are, or how macho it seems, or how "romantic" it seems, or what you saw in the movies ... don't swim in the ocean at night.
and don't surf at dusk!
and don't surf at dusk!
yikes
i surf there regularly...yikes!
Shark Attacks
This is a terrible tragedy for everyone involved and I feel sorry for the family. All they wanted to do was come to the Outer Banks and have an enjoyable vacation. Instead they have lost their father.
As far as all the discussion on shark attacks and preventing them, there are two things to remember about going into the ocean.
1. You are no longer at the top of the food chain when you enter the ocean.
2. The only way to positively avoid shark attacks is to not go in the water.
But sharks are not the only problem. Anyone who has seen a school of bluefish feeding knows they look like piranha coming through the water and they will give you some nasty bites as well. You can drown, get stung by jelly fish, step on something sharp in the water and get seriously injured or die from a lot of things.
So the answer lies in knowing your surroundings, understanding the risks and not getting in beyond your comfort zone or capabilities. After getting bumped by a shark while surfing in Florida about 12 years ago, the lifeguard I spoke with told me that in Florida shark bites were like dog bites. Nothing to be concerned about. My answer was that I didn’t look forward to getting b
Not a drowning
If you carefully read the story, the coroner said the condition of his flesh indicated he was attacked while still living.
I'm sorry to hear that this man died such a horrible death. But swimming in the ocean late at night? Hello.