Breaking & Updated: Boy Possibly Bitten by Sand Shark in Cape Henlopen State Park
10:40 a.m. Friday UPDATE: DNREC has lifted swim restrictions and closures at Cape Henlopen State park following a suspected shark bite Thursday.
3:30 p.m. UPDATE: DNREC is confirming that a 12-year-old boy surfing off Herring Point today was taken to the hospital after he sustained puncture wounds to one leg.
“While initially reported as a shark bite, the appearance of the bite mark is being reviewed by state and fisheries experts to determine if it was from a shark or potential other creature,” DNREC says in a statement.
As a result, officials have closed Herring Point to surfing and swimming Thursday afternoon until further notice. Beachgoers are also restricted to knee-deep waters around the Cape Henlopen bathhouse.
Park rangers and lifeguards are patrolling the beach to warn surfers and other beachgoers to stay in shallow water.
Thus far, the only known shark bite at a Delaware State Park beach occurred on June 9, 2014. That also took place in the Cape Henlopen State Park. In that case, a 16-year-old boy was bitten on his forearm while standing in five feet of water.
ORIGINAL POST: Officials are on the scene at the Cape Henlopen State Park investigating a report that a 12-year-old boy was bitten while in the surf possibly by a sand shark. It was reported at the north jetty at Herring Point around 12:40 p.m. He was taken to the hospital in good condition. We will update as info becomes available.
