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Shark bites Ohio teen at Hilton Head beach

Shark bites Ohio teen at Hilton Head beach
Posted at 12:20 PM, Jul 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-01 17:45:38-04

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- An Ohio teenager says she received lacerations on her leg when she was bitten by a shark last month at a Hilton Head Island beach.

Reagan Readnour, who’s 14, told the Island Packet she felt something tug at her leg while using a boogie board in waist-deep water at Burkes Beach on June 18.

Readnour said she and her brother didn’t realize what had happened until they noticed her blood in the water.

A doctor who treated multiple cuts to her thigh and calf told her it was a shark bite. Hilton Head Hospital spokeswoman Lydia Hill confirmed a patient was treated for a shark bite on June 18.

South Carolina had 39 shark attacks from 2007 to 2016, according to the University of Florida. None of them was fatal.

Readnour said the cuts and bruises are healing, but she has a slight limp.

Meanwhile, the Island Packet reports she's earned a new nickname: Friends and family call her "Shark Bait."