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CNN Live At Daybreak

Just in 'Time': Reporter Discusses Florida Boy Attacked by Shark

Aired July 23, 2001 - 08:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Dramatic videotape from Australia illustrates exactly what people fear most about sharks. White pointer sharks are going after a whale carcass floating off the southern Australian coast. Wildlife officers say as many as 20 sharks are feeding on the whale at the same time.

"Time" magazine takes an in-depth look at sharks and their victims in this week's cover story, "Summer of the Shark." It comes just two days after the latest reported shark encounter. A Florida fisherman says he was bitten Saturday, off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. It's a story you'll find just in "Time" magazine.

"Time"'s Southern bureau chief, Tim Roche, worked on the article, and he joins us this morning.

TIM ROCHE, "TIME": Specifically, you worked on an update and very detailed account of this shark attack on 8-year-old Jesse Arbogast.

That's right. We tried to take a look at what happened with the attack, as well as what happened with the rescue and piecing the boy back together, what happened in emergency room and the operating room. We thought the entire story would read better if we could pick up at beginning and leave off with this remarkable recovery of the little boy.

LIN: Take back to the beginning. Apparently, Jesse was standing and playing in a swimming zone, a designated swimming area.

ROCHE: That's correct. He was in this designated swimming area, where he and his cousins and older brothers and sisters were just splashing about about dusk -- it was about two days after the Fourth of July. He was only about 15 feet out. His cousins, the girls, actually had gone further, and were about 20 feet out.

Suddenly, something brushes by his brother's leg. Before Jesse had a chance to react, the shark took a bite of him and held on to his arm and leg. About the time he's screaming, Get him off me, get him off me, the uncle sprints down about 20 yards, with another man, grabs the shark, just pulls the shark once. It doesn't budge. He pulls it again, and Jesse falls away. Essentially the arm ripped off as the uncle was pulling.

LIN: The pulling motion actually caused the shark to clamp down.

ROCHE: Caused the shark to clamp down, exactly. So as that happened, the uncle and this man are pulling the shark to shore.

LIN: This is a 200-pound man pulling at a 200-pound shark.

ROCHE: Exactly. In his Herculean strength -- here's a man who everybody describes as a Sherman tank. He's like 6 feet 2 inches, 200 pounds. The shark is 7.4 feet, 200 pounds. You can imagine.

It's not as if he actually wrestled the shark out and pulled it up to shore, but he literally just grabbed ahold of its tail, which is very rough and can you if you hit it just right with your hands -- and he yanks it out.

LIN: he have the presence of mind to pull in that direction?

ROCHE: That's a good question.

LIN: There were kids further out. You were saying that Jesse's sisters were further out in the water.

ROCHE: It's not as if he could have grabbed Jesse and pulled Jesse away. Had he done that, the shark would have been free to go on and attack these other kids. Or had they not grabbed ahold of the shark, the shark could have taken Jesse down to the depths, drowned him, put him in a position where couldn't fight and get away. So really, what the uncle did was the best thing possible to take the danger out.

LIN: Did he have any experience at this.

ROCHE: None from what we've been able to tell.

LIN: Did he have any sort of rescue experience or emergency...

ROCHE: The only thing is he's a triathlete, so he's used to dealing with water -- and the athletic inclination that comes with being a triathlete.

LIN: He was breathless on the 911 call, when he called for help, but he really had his presence of mind.

ROCHE: Breathless, but calm.

LIN: In the meantime, Jesse is now on the beach. In the detail of your story, I didn't realize how much blood he lost.

ROCHE: They say that he lost all but about 5 percent. There was just no blood left for his heart to pump.

LIN: His heart was pumping dry.

ROCHE: Pumping dry.

LIN: And this was going on for 30 minutes. ROCHE: For 30 minutes. It was just miraculous that the helicopter gets there within 6 minutes. Because of a head wind, it took a little bit extra time. They pull him off the beach. They're continuing CPR; he's not breathing on his own. They get him into the LifeFlight helicopter and get him back to the hospital within 2 minutes, because there's now a tailwind. Once they get him there, he's still not able to breathe on his own without the help of mechanical assistance.

The arm, meanwhile, back at the beach -- they figure out that the arm's still stuck in the mouth of the shark. They pry it open with a policeman's expandable baton and use vice grips, essentially, to pull the arm out. The arm goes by ambulance to the hospital.

Jessie, meanwhile, is still not breathing at the hospital. The ambulance pulls up. A nurse is at the edge of the trauma room, waiting for the arm to get there. And as soon as the hospital doors swing open, Jesse suddenly starts breathing on his own -- the minute the nurse screams, The arm's here.

LIN: And they finally realize this little boy may have a chance.

It is a really remarkable story. I enjoyed reading it, as much coverage as we've had on this subject. I really encourage all of our viewers to take a look at this week's "Time" magazine.

Thank you very much, Tim Roche -- enjoyed it.

ROCHE: Thank you.

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