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LEE COUNTY, South Carolina – Authorities said Ethel Mae Horton, 65, was killed in a dog attack on Thursday morning in the town of Lucknow in Lee County.

The coroner confirmed that the victim died Thursday from injuries she sustained in the attack.

According to Maj. Daniel Simon with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the attack took place at around 11:45 a.m. in the backyard of the victim’s home located on West Stokes Bridge Road.

Simon said that the woman’s husband named Jerry, was also injured and brought to a hospital in Hartsville. He would have to undergo surgery to treat his injuries.

The coroner said that Brutus, a 10-year-old dog was tied up, and that the couple may have been trying to feed the dog when the attack occurred.

According to investigators, the victims kept several dogs in a backyard pen of their residence. Apparently, the dog in question belonged to the couple’s nephew and it is uncertain if he would face any charges. Authorities said Brutus has been quarantined and will be euthanized prior to a rabies test.

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A 77-year-old man lost his arm below the elbow Thursday when he was attacked by an alligator while playing golf on Fripp Island.

The man, the father of a Fripp Island property owner, was playing the 11th hole of the island’s Ocean Creek Golf Course at about 3 p.m. when the attack occurred. The victim was leaning down to pick up his ball when a 10-foot long alligator grabbed his arm, said Kate Hines, general manager of the Fripp Island Property Owners Association.

Hines said the alligator dragged the man into a nearby pond and went into a series of “death rolls,” a technique the reptile uses to tear apart its food. The man lost his arm in the struggle.

The man’s golf buddies were able to free him from the alligator’s grasp and called 911. They kept an eye on the alligator until workers from Tracks Wildlife Control in Beaufort arrived, Hines said.

The victim, visiting family on the island, was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital.Tracks workers killed the alligator and performed a necropsy at the scene to remove the man’s arm from the animal’s digestive track, Hines said.

The arm was stored in a cooler in the hopes of re-attaching it. The victim was flown at about 5:30 p.m. to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. His condition was unknown late Thursday night.

There have been 10 confirmed alligator attacks in the past 25 years in South Carolina, according to state’s Department of Natural Resources. DNR estimates that 100,000 to 200,000 American alligators live along South Carolina’s coasts.

Thursday’s attack could have been caused by any number of factors, said Joe Maffo, owner of Critter Management, a Hilton Head Island business specializing in alligator removal.

“It could have been a mother protecting her brood, this alligator may have been fed before by people or it could have been a dominance thing and the alligator felt he was trespassing,” Maffo said. “These kinds of attacks are very, very unusual and very, very unfortunate. It’s sad.”

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A man in his mid 30’s was bitten by a Copperhead snake at the Goose Creek Wal-Mart in their Lawn and Garden Center.

Authorities killed the snake at the store, and placed it in an ambulance with the man for species identification.

The Goose Creek Fire Department tell us that only one of the snake’s fangs entered the man.

He was expected to be released from the hospital Monday night.

The identity of the man and his condition are not being made public at this time.

Wal-Mart released a statement to News 2 Tuesday afternoon. Spokeswoman Ashley Hardie said, “At Walmart, the safety of our customers and associates is always our priority. We are continuing to check on the customer and wish him a quick recovery. Our store is taking precautions to prevent this from happening again. Animal control conducted a thorough search of the area to ensure it remains a safe and pleasant shopping and working environment.”

The Copperhead snake is a venomous snake.

It’s most commonly found in the Eastern part of the United States, especially here in the Carolinas.

It can be recognized by the tan color and dark bands on their bodies along with the copper color of their head.

While there are a lot of cases of venomous Copperhead snake bites, luckily their bite is the least dangerous and is rarely fatal.

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As parents watched a handful of young baseball players from a Glen Burnie team enjoy the surf Thursday near Myrtle Beach, S.C., the unthinkable happened.

Two boys were whisked away by a rip current, vanishing beneath the water. Quick thinking teammates rescued one, but the other, a 13-year-old from Baltimore County, apparently drowned.

Horry County Police were still searching late yesterday for the body of Lonnie Hill of Woodlawn, who was on the beach at about 12:40 p.m. with other members of Greater Glen Burnie Patriots when he was pulled under.

“My daughter was out there and she said he was right next to her one minute and gone the next,” said a parent who was on the beach and asked not to be identified.

“It’s devastating I feel so sorry for Lonnie. I just (imagine) him … struggling and nobody seeing him.”

Parents accompanying the team said they were watching when five teenagers, four of them players, got into trouble in the surf.

Police said the water at the Garden City Beach where Lonnie drowned has been choppy recently, and the current gets stronger at the point where the water is chest depth. Just beyond that is a precipitous drop.

That’s the spot where Lonnie and an unidentified boy were taken by the rip current.

Teammates saved one, but it happened so quickly they couldn’t grab Lonnie, the parent who saw the tragedy said.

“I stepped out over the ledge and it just pulled me out pretty quick, I could barely get back, It was really scary,” he said. “You let them go out there and you think you’re safe because you are there. But you know, we aren’t familiar with the rip tides. We don’t have those like that in Ocean City.”

Sgt. Robert Kegler, Horry County police spokesman, said his officers were still looking yesterday for the boy’s body.

“There has not been a recovery yet,” Kegler said. “We are going to continue to have 24-hour coverage of that area, concentrating on the area where he went missing.” The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources flew an airplane over the area during the weekend. Georgetown County officials assisted with boats Monday and Horry County took over that responsibility yesterday.

“We are going to continue our efforts,” Kegler said. “The water has been very choppy, even at the shore. We’ve had several rescues in the past few days due to the water conditions and rip currents.”

Lonnie traveled to South Carolina with his grandparents, Andrea and John Darden. Neither the Dardens nor the boy’s parents could be reached for comment.

Lonnie pitched the night before in the Big Kahuna Tournament for players 13 and under at The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach. Players pay as much as $695 to play in a minimum of six games at fields that imitate former Major League stadiums like the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field.

Patriots Head Coach Tom McCormick said Lonnie’s father contacted them about getting the teenager on the team.

“He was a very quiet, nice kid,” McCormick said. “We never had any problems, he was just a great kid, he loved baseball. I think he’d play 24/7 if he could.”

The Patriots are one of many teams from Greater Glen Burnie Junior Sports League. The group runs leagues for baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer and boys and girls basketball

McCormick said he will try to retire Lonnie’s number 21, for all Greater Glen Burnie ports.

“He will not be forgotten that’s for sure,” McCormick said. “Everybody’s thoughts and prayers go out to the family and everyone is devastated.”

Lonnie and his teammates were on the beach Thursday to eat lunch and have fun in the water, according to the parent who saw the drowning. He said he had warned the kids about going out too far.

He heard the teenagers calling but figured they just needed someone to retrieve a football they were playing with because it had gone out too far. But he headed out to see what was going on.

“I’m halfway out there and I didn’t even know what was going on,” the parent said. “I just hear, ‘Lonnie! Lonnie!’ and my heart sunk and I’m like, ‘Oh no.’”

The parent didn’t know the boy extremely well but knew him enough to like him.

“He was great kid, he really was,” the parent said. “This is tragic.”

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After suspending the search for a missing 13 year old swimmer, authorities plan to resume the search in Garden City at first light, around 5:30 am, Friday morning.

The 13-year-old Maryland boy disappeared around 12:30 Thursday afternoon while swimming in the ocean, in between 15th and 16th Avenue South in Garden City.

Authorities say it is now considered a recovery mission instead of a rescue mission.

Dozens of first responders spent the entire day searching the area with hundreds of people looking on, even helping.

Authorities were in the water — rafts, boats, jet skis, and in the air with helicopters. On lookers even joined the search, as about 100 people locked arm in arm and combed the shore, searching for the missing teen.

“It’s always difficult when it comes to any child. It’s a lot harder to swallow, a lot harder to take,” said Sgt. Robert Kegler, with Horry County Police.

Authorities say the boy was swimming with seven other friends in the ocean when someone noticed several of the boys were struggling in the water.

That’s when a lifeguard jumped in to help bring the boys to shore, but one was left behind in what were rough waters all day long.

“The most challenging has been the physical conditions, the weather itself. You can feel the strong winds out here, the currents a lot higher. The waves are a lot stronger than it normally is. It’s made it very difficult,” said Kegler.

Those who were in the water noticed.

“Very tiring, because you have to keep fighting your way back, it’s exhausting,” recalled George Denton, of Surfside Beach.

“As you can see it’s windy and the current is pulling really bad towards the north,” said Randy Johnson, of Garden City.

“The currents are really bad. They’re pulling you down the beach, and they’re also pulling you out. The waves are pretty busy. One comes right after another. It’s hard to time them like normal surf, so all those combined together, it can drag you out of here. If you’re not careful out there, it’s bad,” said Denton.

Bad, even for really good swimmers

“A majority of swimmers who are really good still can only swim two to three miles per hour, a rip (current) can go as fast as six miles per hour, but we recommend they get on their back and let the rip (current) carry them out to the head of the rip (current) or try to swim parallel to the beach, but don’t try to swim towards the beach,” said Duke Brown, with Horry County Beach Patrol.

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PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC (WMBF) – A family continues to mourn the loss of a Myrtle Beach man who died while trying to rescue his son in Pawleys Island Thursday afternoon.

Robert Beebe, spokesman for Midway Fire Rescue says the father was fishing in the surf when his son was hit by a wave and pulled under water. The man went in after his son and saved him, but was pulled back under the water.

The man, identified as Salomon Sifontes by Georgetown County Coroner Kenny Johnosn, was able to save his son, but in the end, lost his own life.

The reality of what happened on Thursday still hasn’t hit 7-year-old Darwin, who says he remembers seeing his father in those final moments.

“My dad tried to help me, and we were like going really far away, and he couldn’t breathe anymore and he drowned and he was floating with his mouth in the water,” he recalled.

Sifontes’s brother, Moises Sifontes, says he couldn’t believe the news when he first heard.

“They were together all the time. When he sees the picture, he starts crying, and says ‘I want my daddy,’” explained Moises.

Moises says his brother did the right thing by saving his son.

“We are hurt, but we are glad [Darwin] is alive,” said Moises.

The Sifontes family says they would like to send Salomon’s body back to his home country of Honduras, but so far, do not have enough money to do so.

The father, rescuers estimate, was underwater for 30 minutes before he was brought ashore.

An autopsy Friday confirmed Sifontes died as a result of drowning.

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Alligator shows up at diner, but isn’t on the menu

Alligator shows up at diner, isn’t invited back

By JOHN MONK

Wade Davis peered over the yellow tape into the pine woods Wednesday, looking for the gator.

“Where there’s one, there’s gotta be more — right?” he said.

Davis, 39, is one of hundreds of people who have dropped by Betty’s Diner on Bluff Road the past few days after hearing reports of a huge alligator behind the popular Bluff Road restaurant.

Betty Mack had a different kind of customer near her small diner on Bluff Rd. last Friday. An eight to ten foot alligator came within 30 yards of the restaurant making quite a stir with staff and customers.

- Tim Dominick/tdominick@thestate.com

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• Gator facts

  Alligator information from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources

  • At least 100,000 alligators are estimated to live in South Carolina, much fewer than the estimated 1.5 million in Florida.

  • The alligator’s natural range in South Carolina is as far north and west as the fall line, an area characterized by rocky shoals in rivers. In the Midlands, that’s in downtown Columbia on the Congaree and Broad rivers and just below the Lake Wateree dam on the Wateree River.

  • Of the nine documented alligator attacks on humans in South Carolina in the past 30 years, more than half were provoked by people.

  • The S.C. Department of Natural Resources established the first alligator hunting season in four decades last year. Hunters who won limited permits in a drawing killed 362 gators. This year’s season runs Sept. 12-Oct. 10.

The alligator — between 10 and 14 feet, estimates went — climbed a hill from a clearing in some woods about 140 yards back from the road. It then crawled over dry, flat terrain to get within about 30 yards of Betty’s Diner. From that vantage point, the gator no doubt could smell the country cooking — burgers, yams and chicken.

“I check under my car when I go out,” said Betty Mack, 59, the diner’s chief cook and restaurant’s namesake who says her specialty is her fast-selling, secret-recipe, nonalcoholic green fruit drink she calls “Jesus.”

The gator hung out all day Friday.

At times, crowds of people surrounded it, taking photographs and videos, poking it with a stick and even touching it.

State officials came out Friday afternoon. Mack and others wonder why they left it where it was, instead of capturing or killing it.

After that, the gator vanished.

Its disappearance only increased the talk.

Restaurant owner Horace Mack, Betty’s son, put up the yellow tape and “No Trespassing” signs to warn people not to go into the woods.

“We have neighborhoods with children all around here. The gator could get to them,” Betty Mack said.

State Department of Natural Resources officials told Betty Mack they couldn’t do anything with the gator since it was not on the Macks’ property or causing danger to anyone.

In fact, said DNR alligator program coordinator Jay Butfiloski, if an alligator is in its own habitat — where this one was — the department rarely intervenes. Intervening means the department would hire an alligator specialist to remove or kill the creature.

It has to be an emergency situation in which life or property is threatened for DNR to do that, Butfiloski said. An alligator on a road as night falls or an alligator at a schoolyard would probably be an emergency, he said.

“Every situation is different and has to be judged on its own.”

In many cases, DNR gives property owners a permit to hire their own alligator removal specialist if the animal comes back on their property and they feel it threatens people.

That’s what DNR did in this case. It also gave the diner a list of about 70 alligator specialists to call for removal if the alligator shows up again.

That didn’t please Betty Mack.

“They were real nice,” she said, “but they didn’t give us the answer we wanted.”

Butfiloski said alligator attacks on people are exceedingly rare in South Carolina. The state’s 100,000 alligators — which reach as far west as Columbia — attack fewer than one person a year, he said.

Fear of alligators is far more common than actual alligator attacks, he said.

Alligators generally try to retreat with people around, he said. But the reptiles can become aggressive if provoked, or if protecting a nest, he said. He advised people to keep a distance.

“It’s like snakes. The more you mess with them, the more they’re likely to bite you.”

Alligators are usually found near water, but at Betty’s Diner, there wasn’t any water nearby. In fact, for several hundred yards in the woods, it was dry land. A large pond, named Alligator Lake, is about 1½ miles to the southwest.

“Alligators sometimes walk between bodies of water. Maybe that’s what this one was doing,” said Butfiloski.

Neighbors also wish DNR had removed the gator.

Less than a half-mile up the road, at the Eastway subdivision where dozens of children live, residents were worried.

“You want to be concerned about the kids,” said Jason Downs, 42. “It was too big to let wander off.”

Betty Mack says she’ll keep looking under her car.

That’s not because she wants to kill and cook it, even though alligator tails are a delicacy with their taste of fishy chicken.

No, it’s because the gator might find her to its liking.

“If he caught me, he’d probably eat me up,” she said.

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NORTH AMERICA’S TOP SHARK-ATTACK BEACHES

Stephen RegenoldMay 13, 2009
 

 LAUNCH SLIDESHOW

Where to swim at your own risk in North America

 

The year was 1916, and a hot July had delivered thousands of beachgoers to the Jersey Shore. Waves shrugged on the sand, and swimmers bobbed in their bloomers and caps, escaping the heat in the surf and swells of tepid Atlantic waters.

See our slideshow of North America’s Shark-Attack Beaches.

 What happened next—beginning with a death on Long Beach Island—would forever alter America’s collective consciousness toward swimming in the sea: In an unprecedented 11 days, five major shark attacks took place along the Jersey Shore, four of which were fatal.

Reports cited blood turning the water red and sharks following victims toward the beach. Dorsal fins spiked from placid water. Appropriately, a media frenzy ensued. Patrol boats were deployed to kill sharks offshore. Some beaches installed wire mesh to sequester swimmers from anything big and toothy out beyond the break.

 America has never recovered. Indeed, the Jersey Shore attacks of 1916—though an anomaly never seen before or since—branded an image of sharks as monsters that has trickled now through several generations.

“The common public perception today of a shark is that of a man-eater,” said George Burgess, an ichthyologist at the University of Florida who maintains a database called the International Shark Attack File. “We have an innate fear for big predators and natural forces we can’t control.” But as Burgess and others point out, death by shark bite is extremely rare. Shark experts cite statistics to show you can swim and surf with nary a worry at almost any beach on the planet. You are not a seal. Sharks do not want to eat you.

Or do they?

The International Shark Attack File (ISAF), which relies on decades of data, cites more than 2,000 fatal encounters. At beaches like New Smyrna, the cold statistics can become frighteningly real. To date, 210 attacks have been reported there, and in 2007, three swimmers were bitten by sharks and hospitalized.

See our slideshow of North America’s Shark-Attack Beaches.

 Despite the paranoia, millions of people each year surf and swim—literally—with the sharks.

 A top example is New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County, Fla., where Burgess said tiger and black-tip sharks thrive. “Most people who have swum in and around New Smyrna have been within 10 feet of a shark in their lifetime,” he said.

 In Northern California—where deep waters and seal populations draw great white sharks—surfers suit up at places like Stinson Beach to catch waves in a potentially deadly habitat. Patric Douglas, owner of Shark Diver, an ocean guiding outfit in San Francisco, calls Stinson “the granddaddy of all shark beaches.” He said, “It’s common to see 18-footers buzz by surfers bobbing in the waves.”

North America is home to dozens of beaches like New Smyrna where swimmers and sharks intermix, even though the humans may never know it. When the rare attack happens, Burgess said, it’s usually a predatory mistake. “In the surf zone, where many attacks happen, sharks need to make quick decisions,” he said. “Humans on surfboards—hands splashing, feet kicking—can trigger a shark to think there’s trouble or a wounded animal, and it looks like an easy meal.”

 With its thousands of miles of coastlines and millions of beachgoers, the United States sees more shark-human interaction than any other country. Search the ISAF database and you’ll find incidents at beaches from South Carolina to Oregon. There are so many reports, in fact, that California, Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina and Texas each have dedicated sections in the ISAF.

See our slideshow of North America’s Shark-Attack Beaches.

On the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, tiger and hammerhead sharks mix with dolphins and humpback whales. There are dozens of popular surf beaches there, including Velzyland Beach and the Leftovers Break to name two. Though untold thousands surf and swim there each year without incident, attacks do occur.

But according to Laleh Mohajerani, executive director of the shark conservation organization Iemanya Oceanica, sharks are not looking to interfere with humans in the water. Our shark-attack fears are irrational, she said. “You are more likely to be hit by lightning.”

 Indeed, there’s no arguing the numbers. Of the millions of people who enter the ocean each year, almost none are touched.

 But for most people, fiery emotions override even the coldest numbers. A single scary story—be it on the news or in an effects-heavy Hollywood production—will destroy the efforts of hundreds of scientists trying to communicate on research and logic.

From Hawaii to the Caribbean, there are 10 beaches among the most infamous for sharks on the planet. Take a dip if you dare.

See our slideshow of North America’s Shark-Attack Beaches.

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3 alligators spotted in Lake Wylie 

 

06:36 PM EDT on Wednesday, May 13, 2009

 

By ALEX REED / NewsChannel 36 

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Not one, but three alligators are living in Lake Wylie, not far from where children swim.

The boat ramp at the Elks Park Campground near Rock Hill is filled with people daily now who are looking for the gators. It’s a popular swimming area for children here. That’s what has people worried.

It’s tough to see, but NewsChannel 36 caught video of the head of a 2- to 3-year-old alligator swimming around Lake Wylie.

“They’re coming too close with our little children out here,” said Julie Orr.

She’s visited the campground for years. She says her first alligator sighting in Lake Wylie was years ago.

Also Online

 Related Story:
•  Alligator spotted in Lake Hickory

But this is a first for Jon Meadows. He says this is “exciting because you never see them out here.”

There are pictures of one of gators, which a local camper caught on his fishing pole. They show the gator’s head to be about the size of a soda can. Copies of the pictures are passed around the campground as everyone wants a look.

It’s a frightening sight for Orr, who says, “We have young children that swim out here.”

She says she called the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources for help.

“I would think they would send somebody out here to get them, but they say no, they’re not a danger to us,” Orr said.

The wildlife biologist told NewsChannel 36 alligators aren’t considered a threat to people until they reach at least 6 feet in length.

But even these small 3-feet-long gators are enough to drive many away from their usual swimming hole.

“I’m not swimming out here anymore. I’m not touching that water anymore. I’m staying out here. I’m being safe,” said Meadows.

The DNR biologist explained that baby alligators like these are outside their natural habitat and were most likely dumped by a pet owner who kept them illegally. He said the reptiles will feed on animals the size of frogs for the next few years.

Orr says the alligators seem to like baby geese.

“We had plenty of them and they’re just gone,” she said.

The biologist said that an alligator attack on adults, children or pets is highly unlikely. That’s why the officers probably won’t remove them. He says it is illegal for anyone to catch or kill the reptiles without a permit.

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Unlucky Strikes, perhaps?

Bluffton man lit up when he steps out to light up

Gariti keeps good humor through lightning strike ordeal

When Scott Gariti stepped out of his Bluffton home for a cigarette Tuesday evening, he got a bigger light than he expected.

Although he doesn’t remember much of the experience, he was struck by a bolt of lightning as a severe thunderstorm swept through the area. His was one of the more than 1,000 strikes that flared across the Beaufort County sky during the two-hour storm.

On Thursday, Gariti summarized his experience this way: “I got lit up before I could light up.”

Gariti said that when he opened the door to have a smoke, he saw a bright flash. He awoke a few seconds later on his living room floor with his dog, Bailey, licking his face. The force of the strike had knocked him back inside.

He was hit by a two bits of good fortune, as well, he said.

Though the bolt tossed him about five feet, he landed on his dog’s pillow near the front door, which cushioned his landing.

And it also knocked his cell phone out of his pocket. The device landed near his hand.

“I couldn’t move (and) that’s how I was able to call 911 because the phone was just right there,” he said.

He first called his wife, Alison, who was at work.

“He just said, ‘I’ve been hit,’ when I answered the phone,” Alison said, a line that reminded her of something out of “Saving Private Ryan.”

“He didn’t say what had hit him, just that he was in pain. When he finally told me, I was frightened, obviously.”

Paramedics rushed him to Coastal Carolina Hospital in Hardeeville, where he was released later that night. He had a dislocated hip and wrenched back, he said.

“I don’t know if I would say I’m lucky,” he said. “I wasn’t really hurt.”

Gariti’s brother, Joe, thinks “lucky” is exactly what his brother was.

Scott is the “luckiest unlucky guy in the world,” he said.

And, now, a little cautious as well.

While Gariti said thunder and lightning scare him a little, the incident wasn’t a shock to his sense of humor.

His friends have made sure of that.

“People have started calling me ‘Sparky,’ ” he said. “That’s probably the worst part of this.”

Other local incidents

Eleven people were struck by lightning last year in South Carolina, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Web site. Most of those came in one incident in July when eight men were struck while standing in a Spartanburg County peach orchard.

The last person reportedly struck by lightning in Beaufort County was a 22-year-old man, who was killed while walking along a Hilton Head Island beach July 30, 2007, according to the NOAA Web site. His mother, who was walking with him, also reportedly was struck by the same bolt.

In northern Beaufort County, the last report of a person being struck by lightning was in August, 1999, when a Lady’s Island man was struck during an afternoon thunderstorm. The last report from Bluffton was in 1998.