Girl bitten by shark in summer has visit with rescuers at Fire Department

On June 11, 2025, Leah Lendel, age 9, was bitten by a shark in the 2200 block of Shore Lane. This Tuesday, Lendel came back to visit the Boca Grande Fire Department. It was not a planned visit. The entire crew (both EMS and fire) that assisted happened be on duty at the station.

The shark bite happened just after noon on June 11; Lendel was snorkeling while her family was at the beach. The girl was transported off the island by helicopter, and treated in Tampa.

Lendel underwent six hours of reconstructive surgery, including tendon repairs and artery grafts from her leg. After work with an occupational therapist, she regained feeling in her hand and fingers. 

The last reported shark bite at the beach in Boca Grande was in May of 2019, when a man fell off a boat into the water in Boca Grande Pass. He had lost his balance; witnesses at the time said it appeared to be a bull shark that bit him “once on the leg near his knee.” Prior to 2019, there had been no shark bites since July of 2005, when an Austrian visitor was bitten on the ankle while swimming in the Pass.