Santa Barbara Shark Attack: Shark Kills Swimmer, Closes California Beaches - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

roadx · 10-23-2010, 08:17 AM

LOS ANGELES — A bodyboarder killed by a shark at a Central California beach cried out to his friend for help as the shark flashed out of the water, bit into his leg and pulled him under in a tide of blood, the friend said Friday.
Matthew Garcia was surfing 2 feet from his friend, 19-year-old Lucas Ransom, when the shark attacked, he said. The whole incident lasted seconds.
"When the shark hit him, he just said, 'Help me, dude!' He knew what was going on," Garcia told The Associated Press. "It was really fast. You just saw a red wave and this water is blue – as blue as it could ever be – and it was just red, the whole wave."
As huge waves broke over his head, Garcia tried to find his friend in the surf but couldn't. He decided to get help, but turned around again as he was swimming to shore and saw Ransom's red bodyboard pop up. Garcia swam to his friend and did chest compressions as he brought him to shore.
Ransom already appeared dead and his leg was mauled, he said.
"He was just floating in the water. I flipped him over on his back and underhooked his arms. I was pressing on his chest and doing rescue breathing in the water," Garcia said. "He was just kind of lifeless, just dead weight."
The University of California, Santa Barbara, junior had a severe wound to his left leg and died a short time later at Surf Beach, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. The beach, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is on the property of Vandenberg Air Force Base but is open to the public.
Sheriff's deputies patrolled the coastline to search for Ransom's missing leg but were only able to recover the boogie board, which had a 1-foot segment on the side bitten off.
Federal and state Fish and Game officials were working to identify the type of shark that attacked.

more @
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/1..._n_772652.html

RIP DUDE

10-23-2010, 08:17 AM	#1
roadx . Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1,155	Santa Barbara Shark Attack: Shark Kills Swimmer, Closes California Beaches LOS ANGELES — A bodyboarder killed by a shark at a Central California beach cried out to his friend for help as the shark flashed out of the water, bit into his leg and pulled him under in a tide of blood, the friend said Friday. Matthew Garcia was surfing 2 feet from his friend, 19-year-old Lucas Ransom, when the shark attacked, he said. The whole incident lasted seconds. "When the shark hit him, he just said, 'Help me, dude!' He knew what was going on," Garcia told The Associated Press. "It was really fast. You just saw a red wave and this water is blue – as blue as it could ever be – and it was just red, the whole wave." As huge waves broke over his head, Garcia tried to find his friend in the surf but couldn't. He decided to get help, but turned around again as he was swimming to shore and saw Ransom's red bodyboard pop up. Garcia swam to his friend and did chest compressions as he brought him to shore. Ransom already appeared dead and his leg was mauled, he said. "He was just floating in the water. I flipped him over on his back and underhooked his arms. I was pressing on his chest and doing rescue breathing in the water," Garcia said. "He was just kind of lifeless, just dead weight." The University of California, Santa Barbara, junior had a severe wound to his left leg and died a short time later at Surf Beach, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. The beach, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is on the property of Vandenberg Air Force Base but is open to the public. Sheriff's deputies patrolled the coastline to search for Ransom's missing leg but were only able to recover the boogie board, which had a 1-foot segment on the side bitten off. Federal and state Fish and Game officials were working to identify the type of shark that attacked. more @ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/1..._n_772652.html RIP DUDE __________________