Watch briefing: New York woman killed in Maine's first fatal shark attack - Press Herald

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A 63-year-old New York City woman and part-time resident of Harpswell died in a shark attack Monday afternoon near Bailey Island.

Julie Dimperio Holowach was identified Tuesday as the victim of what is the first documented fatal shark attack in Maine.

Maine’s Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed that Holowach was attacked by a great white shark, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The department urged people recreating in the water to avoid schools of fish or seals, which can attract sharks.

“This is the first documented fatality ever in Maine,” James Sulikowski, a former University of New England professor and researcher who conducts shark research in Maine and locations worldwide, said in an interview Monday evening. “Shark interactions with humans are very rare in Maine. My guess is that the person was mistaken for a food item. In this area of Maine and depending on how close to shore the event occurred, my guess is it was a white shark.”

Holowach, who has a home on Bailey Island, was wearing a wetsuit and swimming about 20 yards offshore just outside Mackerel Cove on Bailey Island in Harpswell on Monday afternoon when she was attacked. Two kayakers brought the victim and her daughter to shore, where they were met by a crew of Harpswell first responders. She died at the scene.

Holowach’s daughter was not injured, according to the Maine Marine Patrol.

The marine patrol is urging swimmers and boaters to use caution near Bailey Island and to avoid swimming near schools of fish or seals.

Jeff Cooper, director of fun and co-founder of H2Outfitters in Orr’s Island, said the people who rescued the women were using a tandem kayak from H2Outfitters. He did not know their names but described them as being from out of the country and on vacation. Cooper picked up the kayak Monday night and spoke briefly to them about the incident.

“It was traumatic for the people who had the courage to go out there and retrieve them. There was a lot of blood in the water,” he said. “They had strong character to go out there and do that. They did what had to be done. We should all be thankful people like that exist.”

The only other recorded report of an unprovoked attack in Maine waters involved a scuba diver in Eastport in 2010, according to the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File. The diver was not inured and fended off the shark with his video camera.

Cooper said he has never seen a shark during his 40 years of boating, but has heard from local fishermen that they occasionally see tiger sharks in the area. He first heard of the attack Monday afternoon over a scanner and said first responders described a woman with damage to her stomach after being “attacked by something.” He drove to a small local beach to warn swimmers to get out of the water.

H2Outfitters runs a children’s summer camp that is cancelled Tuesday because of the shark attack. Cooper said it’s likely activities for the rest of the week will be adjusted to keep kids out of the water. The staff will also contact anyone who has rented a kayak from H2Outfitters to warn them about the attack and urge them to use extra caution on the water.

“I think people should be concerned,” Cooper said. “They need to pay attention, especially with a threat you can’t see in the water.”

Sulikowski is fairly certain the victim’s attacker was a great white shark, a large predatory animal that can reach lengths of more than 17 feet. More of the white sharks have been seen off the coast of Maine in recent years, he said. White sharks are fast swimmers and can reach Maine in one day from the waters off Cape Cod.

Great white sharks, also known as white sharks, are known as ambush predators. They can travel at high speeds and like to sneak up on their prey. Sulikowski said white sharks have been known to swim below the surface before rocketing upward like a torpedo and striking their unsuspecting prey with as much force as possible.

The shark that attacked the woman in Harpswell may have been the same shark that attacked a seal in Phippsburg on Sunday. That attack left a a 19-inch long bite mark – the seal was not eaten– that could only have been made by a shark 11 feet long or larger, Sulikowski said.

This story will be updated.

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