Rare Shark Attack on Oahu Beach

On Friday morning, my sister-in-law called to check on my husband. We are from Toledo, Ohio, vacationing in Oahu, Hawaii. She happened to turn on her television back home to see a snipet of a news story about a man from Toledo who was bit by a shark in Hawaii. Thankfully it wasn't my husband. Thankfully the man who was bit did survive.

It was a man named Harvey Miller from our town. He is a 36-year-old lawyer who was in Hawaii to vacation with his family. He decided to go snorkeling on Thursday to look for some sea turtles. He was 150 yards offshore in Waimanalo, Hawaii, at a place called Belows Beach. Just after 3 p.m. he saw a school of fish which turned direction quickly in the water. He came face to face with the 8-foot tiger shark . Not realizing that he had been bitten by the shark, he punched the shark's nose twice and tried to swim away. Just then he realized he couldn't kick his leg. He said "Oh God, not like this. No way." He managed to swim 75 yards toward the shoreline and then realized he was not going to be able to swim the last 75 yards.

So he yelled for help and screamed "shark". A vacationer, named Ray Howell, from Victoria, Texas, was playing cards with his family at a rented cabin at Bellows Beach. He heard Harvey's voice and realized that it was a serious tone. Although he heard his voice, Ray said he never heard Harvey yell the word "shark." He didn't know what the trouble was but realized he had to do something. He grabbed Harvey under the shoulder and pulled him to shore. Harvey was assisted by a Bellows employee and they wrapped his leg with a towel and a belt to stop the bleeding.

He was rushed to Queen's Medical Center for surgery. Part of his calf is missing and there were some cut tendons. As he entered surgery, he joked that he was glad he got in a couple rounds of golf before this happened. The attack left a 12-inch gash in his leg. Luckily the shark just missed hitting the femoral artery, which would have been life-threatening. It will be two to three months before he can walk again. Harvey's concerns now are how this will affect his golf game and if he can shoot hoops with his son back home. Hopefully he will be able to do both in time.

Beaches were closed to the public after the attack but re-opened on Friday afternoon.

This was a rare event. The last shark attack was back in 1958, when a 15-year-old Billy Weaver was killed by a tiger shore in that area. Tiger sharks around the 8-foot size usually switch their diets to include things like turtles. Harvey and the shark were looking for the same thing that day when their paths crossed -- turtles.