Teen bitten by shark at South Carolina island

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Researchers say a teen appears to have suffered a shark bite on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island.

Linton Suttle tells The Island Packet that he was swimming Thursday near Sea Pines Beach Club when he felt a sharp pain in his foot.

His parents used photos of comparable bites and an exchange with shark researchers to confirm it was a shark bite. The family received an email from George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, confirming the bite was from a shark.

The North Carolina teen escaped without major injuries but had to use crutches and stay out of the ocean.

The newspaper says he’s the fourth shark bite victim on Hilton Head this summer.

None of the bites were life-threatening, indicating they were from smaller sharks.