Govind Tekale
A family vacation turned into a nightmare when 9-year-old Leah Lendel was severely injured by a shark while snorkeling off Boca Grande, Florida, on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
Leah was snorkeling in shallow water about 25 feet from shore when the attack occurred around noon. Her mother, Nadia Lendel, was nearby with her two toddlers when she heard Leah scream.
“She flies out, I look over because I don’t know if I heard a yell, or what,” Nadia told authorities through tears. “And I could see her hand hanging — and there was blood everywhere.”
Witnesses reported seeing an 8-foot shark, believed to be a bull shark, in the water. Raynel Lugo, a construction worker who rushed to help, described the terrifying scene.
“We saw the shark rushing in the water, it was right there, right behind her,” Lugo said. “We were trying to get her out… it was still chasing her.”
Lugo and other nearby construction workers quickly responded to the family’s cries for help. They helped get Leah and the other children safely to shore. The workers applied a makeshift tourniquet using a towel to stop the bleeding from Leah’s severely injured hand, which was reportedly “hanging by a little piece of skin.”
This quick action likely saved both Leah’s hand and her life. She was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, where she underwent a six-hour surgery to reattach her hand.
According to Nadia, doctors successfully restored blood flow to Leah’s hand and fingers. “She is showing some movement in two fingers but can’t feel the rest,” the family stated. Doctors planned another procedure to assess if further treatment was needed.
“The fact that Leah has all her fingers attached is already a testimony. From witnessing her wrist hanging on by just the skin, to have blood flow in all of her hand and fingers is truly a miracle,” the Lendel family said in a statement.
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The incident stands out as unusual for Boca Grande. Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser noted this was the first reported shark bite on the island in approximately 20 years.
While Florida leads the world in unprovoked shark bites with 14 confirmed cases in 2024, most attacks occur in Volusia County, often called the “shark bite capital of the world.” Shark bites decreased globally in 2024, with only 47 confirmed unprovoked cases worldwide.
Marine Biologist Deby Cassill from the University of South Florida explained that shark sightings might increase this time of year. “They are hungrier this time of year, and anything moving or splashing will attract their attention,” she said.
Alan Moore, president of the Coastal Marine Education Research Academy in Clearwater, emphasized that this was likely a “curious bite” rather than a targeted attack.
“It’s very tragic for the little girl involved for sure, but it definitely wasn’t an attack on somebody, it wasn’t targeted,” Moore explained. “It’s just them looking for food in their natural behavior.”
Moore added that such bites often happen in murky water when sharks mistake humans for fish. He advised swimmers to avoid the water at dusk or dawn when sharks are more active, not wear shiny objects that might look like fish scales, and swim in groups.
The Lendel family reportedly does not have medical insurance. A GoFundMe campaign was established by Leah’s uncle, Max Derinskiy, to help with medical expenses. Derinskiy said Leah will remain in the hospital for some time and then face “a lot of physical therapy to hopefully get her hand functioning again.”
