Greg Wilfert, a lifeguard with 55 years of experience at Scarborough Beach State Park in Maine, recounted a terrifying encounter on Saturday where he was dragged beneath the waves by what he believes was a great white shark.
Wilfert, 71, stated in an interview with WMTW that he was pulled approximately six feet underwater by the creature while on duty. "There’s no fish that’s going to do that … It had to be the shark," Wilfert told the outlet. He managed to unstrap himself from his flotation device and swim to shore, fearing the shark might return.
A witness reported to Scarborough police that Wilfert's rescue torpedo shot out of the water moments after he began swimming to safety, according to WMTW. Local officials confirmed that the incident is consistent with recent shark activity in the area. Experts at the New England Aquarium also corroborated the circumstances, the outlet reported. This comes after nearly a dozen young sharks were sighted in the vicinity last week.
Unprovoked shark attacks are considered extremely rare. Maine's only recorded fatal shark attack occurred in 2020 when a great white shark mauled a 63-year-old New Yorker while she was with her daughter near Harpswell.
Following Saturday's close call, officials temporarily cleared Scarborough Beach for about an hour and conducted a survey of the waters.