JESSIE ARBOGAST
Name: Jessie Arbogast
Born: 1993 Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Best Known As: The boy whose arm was bitten off by a shark
8-year-old Jessie Arbogast was swimming in the ocean near Pensacola, Florida on
6 July 2001 when a 200-pound bull shark bit off his right arm. Arbogast's uncle,
Vance Flosenzier, wrestled the shark out of the water; a park ranger shot the
shark and Arbogast's arm was pulled from the shark's gullet. Arbogast was
airlifted to the hospital, and doctors reattached the arm during 11 hours of
surgery. Arbogast was released from the hospital on 12 August 2001 and
readmitted for brief stays later in the year. The prognosis for his long-term
recovery is uncertain. A 2004 article in the Pensacola News-Journal reported
that Arbogast was using a wheelchair and had trouble communicating, but was "growing
like a weed."
A rumor that the uncle was shark fishing at the time of the incident was
declared a hoax by Florida newspapers.
Name: Jessie Arbogast
Born: 1993 Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Best Known As: The boy whose arm was bitten off by a shark
8-year-old Jessie Arbogast was swimming in the ocean near Pensacola, Florida on
6 July 2001 when a 200-pound bull shark bit off his right arm. Arbogast's uncle,
Vance Flosenzier, wrestled the shark out of the water; a park ranger shot the
shark and Arbogast's arm was pulled from the shark's gullet. Arbogast was
airlifted to the hospital, and doctors reattached the arm during 11 hours of
surgery. Arbogast was released from the hospital on 12 August 2001 and
readmitted for brief stays later in the year. The prognosis for his long-term
recovery is uncertain. A 2004 article in the Pensacola News-Journal reported
that Arbogast was using a wheelchair and had trouble communicating, but was "growing
like a weed."
A rumor that the uncle was shark fishing at the time of the incident was
declared a hoax by Florida newspapers.