Shark that attacked Florida boy was actually on a fishing line-Fiction!

The Shark That Bit The Arm of an 8-Year-Old-Boy in Florida Was Actually On a Fishing Line at The Time-Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:
This email claims that a widely publicized shark attack off Pensacola, Florida in July, 2001, wasn't what it appeared to be. The news stories said that 8-year-old Jessie Arbogast was attacked by the shark in shallow water and lost his arm as the result. The reports at the time were that the boy's uncle saw the shark biting his nephew, jumped into the water, got his nephew released from the shark, then wrestled the shark to shore. The boy's arm was retrieved from the shark's mouth and later reattached. This email says the real story, and one that has been suppressed by the media and the family, is that the boy was not innocently attacked while swimming. This eRumor says the uncle was fishing for shark and had battled the shark for about 2 hours. When he got it close to shore, his nephew excitedly ran toward the shark and that's when he got bit. The eRumor says the uncle had been using chum (bait to attract fish) at the time.

The Truth:
The National Park Service has issued a report on the incident that says there was no fishing going on at all in the area of the attack...not by Jessie's uncle or anyone else. The report says Jessie was attacked while swimming and that the uncle did manage to drag the shark ashore by grabbing its tail. According to an editorial in the Pensacola News Journal (7/27/01), the rumors about the uncle fishing for shark started a couple of days after the attack on Jessie and spun out of control from there, especially on the Internet. There is no ranger who shot the shark and no witnesses at all who saw anybody fishing. The National Park Service would like to figure out where the rumor started.

A real example of the story as it has been circulated:

Whoa!
Subject: The truth about the Pensacola Beach shark attack

This is a forward from an unknown source, but I have heard the same from
some reputable sources in the medical community. It reads as follows:

To All my buddies and friends that have called me about the truth on the
shark attack here on Pensacola Beach, the truth is coming out! There is a
reason that the "hero" of the attack that wrestled that 7 foot shark to
shore is not giving any interviews, and is hard to find. There is a reason
that this 7 foot shark was in 2 feet of water, and there is a reason that
the family is "acting funny" about taking money from those that want to
help....here it is.....hard truth...Sit down.... THE UNCLE THAT WRESTLED THE SHARK ASHORE WAS FISHING FOR SHARKS, HAD IT ON A LINE AND HAD BEEN FIGHTING IT FOR TWO HOURS PLUS.

The unidentified stranger that helped him also helped him fight the fish
to shore. When the shark got into two feet of water, the kids all ran into
the water in jubilation and the shark lunged from off the ground and hit Jessie
Arbogast twice, took his arm off and bit into his leg. !!!!!!!
The man had CHUM in the water, and heavy tackle built to fish for sharks.

His nephew got bit because the entire family went into the water trying to
wrestle the fish to land. There is big money on a shark that size.

THIS IS THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
The press has suppressed the real truth, because they are afraid that it
will effect the contributions for Jessie and the uncle is so filled with
guilt, he has tried to commit suicide once already....Now it all makes sense. NO
MAN is going to wrestle a shark that large to shore in two feet of water, that
is one powerful animal, and they had cut the cable, and hide the rods by
the time the Medic's got there. The ranger that shot the shark testified
that the shark still had the hook in his mouth and "put up a big fight because his mouth was all bloody and torn up"....(that is why the shark had blood all over it's mouth in the TV photo's, it was
it's own blood !!)

I am not lessening the horror of the event. Jessie did get an arm bit off
and is going to recover, but I am tired of Pensacola Beach taking it in
the shorts because of the "whole truth not being told"....The money, in my
opinion would still come in, and the uncle will have to accept that it was
a tragic accident and a mistake.