Surfer Missing After Another Shark Attack In South Australia

Update: The surfer was identified as 28-year-old Lance Appleby, a beloved local surfer from the Streaky Bay region. As of right now, his body is yet to be found but he is presumed dead. A GoFundMe has been organized for the family. Please consider donating here.

Yesterday, a surfer was attacked off Granites Beach in South Australia at 7 PM local time.

Emergency crews immediately started a search. But, as of right now, the surfer has yet to be found and their name has not been released to the public.

This attack comes just over a year after a fatal attack at this same beach — when 55-year-old Tod Gendle was mauled at Granites in October of 2023.

According to 7News, Gendle was one of about a dozen surfers in the water at the time.

“(The shark) grabbed him, pulled him back down, brought him back up, pulled him back down again,” one witness said.

A 4.2m great white was spotted in the water shortly after a Gendle disappeared at the popular break.

2023 was an anomalous year for shark attacks in the state of South Australia. In May, a 46-year-old school teacher was killed while surfing off of nearby Walkers Beach. And, in December, 15-year-old Khai Cowley was killed by a shark surfing off of Ethel Beach. Shortly after this fatal attack, a 64-year-old surfer was also mauled, but was able to get away from the shark, swim to shore, and drive himself to the hospital.

Why are shark attacks in South Australia becoming even more common than they used to be? Shark researcher Andrew Fox weighed in, saying, “In the last year [2023], we’ve had five attacks with three fatal attacks, which is significantly more than just a couple over the last eight previous years. These anomalies could be due to changes in the prey sources that are migrating through the area. There’s been El Niño and La Niña, and so those environmental factors could change the sharks’ behavior.”

Our thoughts and cautious hopes are with the affected surfer and their family at this time.