Minnesota woman dies following shark bite on St. Croix, authorities say

A Minnesota woman, Arlene Lillis, 56, died after being bitten by a shark while in the water at Dorsch Beach on the island of St. Croix, the Virgin Islands Police Department said. Ms. Lillis lost an arm in the attack and was taken to a hospital, where she died, Lt. Governor Tregenza Roach said at a news conference on Friday.

Mr. Roach said she was a "frequent visitor" to the Virgin Islands; her relatives could not be immediately reached on Friday. Calls for assistance came in just before 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, with multiple callers to 911 reporting that a woman had been bitten, the police said. People at the beach attempted to help, and two men — one a nurse and former lifeguard and the other a lineman trained in CPR — rushed to Ms.

Lillis, reported seeing blood in the water and her severed arm, helped her ashore and reassured her while she was still conscious. Christopher Carroll, the nurse, told The St. Thomas Source, "I figured if we got her to a hospital, she'd have a fighting chance." At first there were reports of another person in the water, but the police said they searched and did not find a second victim.

Officials said they are continuing to investigate, and Nicole Angeli, director of the Fish and Wildlife Division of the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said the species of the shark was not known: "Sharks are common.

Key Topics

World, Arlene Lillis, Dorsch Beach, St. Croix, U.s. Virgin Islands, Tregenza Roach