‘I got pulled under’: Lifeguard recalls terrifying encounter with shark at New England beach

SCARBOROUGH, Maine — A lifeguard had a terrifying experience with a great white shark in the water off a popular New England beach over the weekend.

Greg Wilfert says he was operating a rescue torpedo when a shark grabbed the device and pulled him under the water at Scarborough Beach State Park in Maine on Saturday afternoon.

Wilfert estimated that he went about five feet below the surface while the rescue torpedo shot six to eight feet out of the water.

“I got pulled underwater. I was probably five feet under, and I thought I was caught in a boat prop,” Wilfert recalled. “I realized it wasn’t. There’s no fish that’s going to do that. It had to be a big fish...It had to be the shark. It was a shark.”

There were no reported injuries during the encounter, and Wilfert was able to free himself and swim back to shore.

The beach was closed to swimming for about an hour after the incident, according to the Scarborough Police Department.

John Chisholm of the New England Aquarium said the shark encounter is consistent with recent activity in the area, with several reported shark sightings as far north as Bangor in recent days.

Police warned the public to beware of sharks lurking close to shore at Scarborough Beach State Park and Higgins Beach.

“There continues to be a significant number of white sharks being observed,” the department said in a statement. “Recent observations have included multiple sharks moving through the nearshore waters and sandbar areas.”

Wilfert also urged swimmers to enter the water only at beaches staffed with lifeguards and to use common sense.

Beachgoers can track recent shark sightings with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app.

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