Shark Attacks Girl in North Carolina

abcdm.abccom.Player.displayCompanionBanners = function(banners, tracking) {tmDisplayBanner(banners, adCompanionBannerObj, 300, 250, null, tracking);}abcdm.abccom.Player.hideCompanionBanners = function() {tmHideBanner(adCompanionBannerObj);adContainer = document.getElementById(adCompanionContainer);if(adContainer){adContainer.innerHTML = '';}} A 10-year-old lady was attacked by the shark whilst wading in 3.5 feet of water during the North Carolina beach.Cassidy Cartwright of Erie, Pa., was playing with her body board last Sunday during North Topsail Beach when the shark dragged her underwater."It pulled me down, and it hurt," Cartwright told ABC News affiliate, WWAY. "I just thought it was somebody messing around, and I found out that it wasn't 'cause it pulled me down again."Cartwright's mother, Carolyn, who rescued her daughter with the help of the friend, described the scene as "bloody.""Together we got her out, though when we pulled out of the water her leg was wide open and it was just... the lot of blood," Carolyn told WWAY.Cartwright was airlifted to UNC Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill where she is recovering from the attack."At that indicate I theory we assumed it was the shark bite, though it wasn't until we got to UNC that they had found the shark tooth in her leg," Carolyn said.The shark punch broke Cartwright's Achilles tendon and further damaged her lower leg. Shallow Water Shark AttacksThe attack was the copycat of last summer's shallow-water shark attack during Topsail Beach on 13-year-old Carley Schlentz.Schlentz was bitten twice by the shark last June whilst swimming in four feet of water off of Topsail Island, requiring 60 stiches on her left ankle."It's not uncommon for sharks to swim in shallow water," said sea biologist and Discovery Channel shark adviser, Andy Dehart.Dehart has spotted sharks in the mangroves of Florida and in the Bahamas in waters as low as the foot and the half."What surprises the lot of people is that they're much closer to sharks than t! hey real ize on the daily basis during the beach," Dehart said. "Most sharks swim by people completely unnoticed. "According to the biologist, the ghastly water around the North Carolina shore is often to blame for unprovoked shark attacks in this area."The shark sees the flash of pale skin that has the high contrast in the dark, ghastly waters and often times that can confuse sharks the little bit. They punch down thinking they are biting the fish though it's the person."Sharks have attacked 41 people in North Carolina in the last 75 years.Last summer, nearly the dozen great white sharks were spotted off the shore of Cape Cod in just one week, causing beach evacuations and shut downs along the Northeast. Precautionary Measures Against AttacksDehart said that movies such as "Jaws" have inflated the threat of what are differently timid creatures who "have no interest in biting people." He recommended that swimmers avoid the ocean during shark feedings hours, primarily eve and dawn, and remain watchful for bait fish, that attract the predators.According to WWAY, Carolyn Cartwrtight is glad her daughter survived the shark attack during their vacation in N.C., though she does not think that the response from authorities during North Topsail Beach was sufficient as fellow beach-goers were not informed about the attack afterward.North Topsail Beach Town Manager Steve Foster was not immediately available for comment to ABCNews.com, though he told the affiliate, "I think we responded reasonably in this situation."With beach goers prepping for July 4 celebrations, Cartwrtight reminds them that the danger of the shark attack is real."It can happen," she said. "[You need] to be aware of the situation, the risk that you are putting your child into. Just be educated."