North Carolina's medical examiner's office reversed itself twice Friday, first saying that a Pittsburgh vacationer found washed up on the Outer Banks last month was not killed by a shark as first reported, but died from "accidental drowning."
Hours later, the office reverted to its original conclusion after getting another opinion.
But this "continued uncertainty" means the case requires further review, said Crystal Baity in an e-mail. She's a spokeswoman for East Carolina University, where the autopsy was conducted.
The body of Richard A. Snead, 60, was found Sept. 17 by another tourist in Kill Devil Hills. Snead had been reported missing days earlier after going for a late-night swim.
The medical examiner's office blamed shark bites for his death at the time.
The office on Wednesday came to the drowning conclusion, Baity wrote, after analyzing circumstances at the scene and shark behavior, and reviewing images of the body with marine biologists, and confirmed it earlier Friday.
But later in the day, another researcher expressed a different opinion, leading officials to stay with the shark-bite scenario, Baity said.
She said she didn't know how long the final review would take. If shark bites are confirmed as the cause of death, it would be the first such reported attack in the region in more than eight years.
Matthew Bowers, (757) 222-3893,matthew.bowers@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Don't trust the coroner, call the oceanographic institute
Well, this is not a boat accident! And it wasn't any propeller; and it wasn't any coral reef; and it wasn't Jack the Ripper! It was a shark.
I overheard a conversation a
I overheard a conversation a couple weeks back and it centered around him swimming in the day time, now this comes up. I think something smells "fishy"
Does it matter?
Really? Does it matter. He is still deceased.
One thing people fail to remember. When they enter the ocean their position in the food chain drops just a bit.
Port Edward
The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau announced today that domestic visitors to and within Dare County spent an estimated $777.41 million dollars in 2008.
As an example, Natal South Coast is a resort area extending approximately 100 miles along the coast and its economy is almost entirely dependent on tourism. An outbreak of shark attacks resulted in a serious economic recession in the area.
Does it matter?
Well, "The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau announced today that domestic visitors to and within Dare County spent an estimated $777.41 million dollars in 2008".
That matters to the folks of OBX if tourism drops 10%?, 20%?, 30%? or more because tourists think there is a shark problem.
It does matter
It does matter when people start rumors and thats all this is...If you see a body wash up on shore and has bite marks on it you automatically think it was a shark attack...But after a medical examination you determine they drowned...Why does it have to be a controversy...Maybe it was just a wrong report in the beginning...I was down there the weekend he went missing and it was a very bad day for rip tides and heavy currents...To go out and take a midnight swim...I'm sorry but that was not a smart idea...I am also sorry for the loss this family received but you need to know your surroundings...There is not a place on either coast that would be safe to swim at midnight...Why dont we leave it up to the authorities to figure out instead of posting all the rumors...
Not rumors, just reporting
The m.e. office reported the victim had extensive injuries and there was no question that a shark attack caused his death. "Living tissues look different when they receive an injury, versus tissues that are already dead," she (m.e.) said. <-- from the original report, read it yourself.
...so when the m.e. is that definitive you think doing a second autopsy makes sense.
I got some oceanfront property in Arizona...
This reeks of a set-up,
This reeks of a set-up, especially with no further comment from the medical examiner. They simply cannot have a killer shark roaming the waters of the outer banks, bad for business. A scavenger shark...OK but still not ideal. This is the same scene right out of the beginning of Jaws.
How can they tell his "accidental drowning" wasn't related to...
...the shark attack? Could the shark have attacked him and he went under and drowned? This doesn't make sense, and the change makes it appear that they are trying to protect the tourist business. I think some clarification is in order for the public to better understand this.
Now it's not a shark attack?!?
The m.e. office reported the victim had extensive injuries and there was no question that a shark attack caused his death.
The victim decided to go for a swim in water he's unfamiliar with during the most active feeding time for sharks. The victim drowned and when he was found with shark bites to his body. The m.e. initially determined cause of death to be by shark attack. "Living tissues look different when they receive an injury, versus tissues that are already dead," she said.
I can see why the state got a second opinion that contradicts the first as an attack and changes the results to drowning. People drown everyday. A shark attack could destroy an entire community.
Swim during the daytime. You’ll improve your chances of surviving an attack, er I mean drowning.
although a mistake....
were it my loved one I would rather know they drown than died in excruciating pain from a shark attack.
an odd change...
Death by shark affects the tourism industry, which affects tax receipts -- a bad thing in an already bad economy and down year for tourism. Death by drowning affects nothing, or affects the industry minimally (a few irrational people will assume the Outer Banks has abnormally dangerous rip currents, etc. and that might marginally affect the industry). So the State has an incentive to ensure the cause of death was as benign as possible.
I'm not accusing anyone of influencing the medical examiner, but the change of opinion is suspicious. Note to Medical Examiner: changing your opinion after a couple of weeks raises more questions than it answers. Please try your best to get it right the first time. Or don't announce anything until you're sure.
thanks for the update
i guess we're supposed to feel better about this poor guy being mauled by sharks posthumously as opposed to while still struggling for survival.
Oooops!
More justification for getting second opinions from the medical community. I hope this doesn't add to the family's anguish.