Woman bitten by shark returns to beach for National Geographic feature

Karren Sites was never afraid of the water. But that all changed nearly two years ago during a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, S.C., when a shark bit her. She went back to that beach with her grandson for the first time since this happened to share their story on a national scale.

“I still love to go to the beach, but now I have these feelings of, I’m not sure if I want to go in the water,” said Sites.

Back in August 2022, Sites was in the ocean in waist-deep water with her grandson, Brian, when she felt a sharp pain.

“I just see this big thing come out of the water and that’s when I see it,” said Brian Sites. “It just latches on.”

“I thought, ‘Did a jellyfish land on my arm?’” asked Karren. “I looked down, and it was like this gray head just on my arm.”

Karren slapped the shark off her arm, still not realizing what actually happened.

“It seemed sort of surreal, and I just remember looking and thinking, ‘Wait, the skin is missing from my arm,’” said Karren.

Karren needed surgery and hundreds of stitches. Then, when she got back to Pittsburgh, doctors performed a second surgery.

“It’s pretty much back to normal but not quite,” said Karren. “Have a little bit of difficulties with the hand. My arm gets tired, but compared to what could have been, I consider myself lucky.”

In September, Karren and her grandson returned to Myrtle Beach with National Geographic to be featured in an episode of Shark Attack 360. The show looks into why sharks bite humans.

“They consult with experts to look to see if there’s something that causes sharks to bite at certain times and not at other times,” said Karren. “They are in the ocean. We swim in the ocean, and we’ve said a million times the shark when it bit me, a shark was being a shark.”

“They tried figuring out how sharks would occur for the moon and high tide and low tide,” said Brian.

“Keep up your guard, but don’t let it ruin your beach or your vacation,” said Karren.

Karren and her family are heading to Tampa next month. Brian says he’s going to try to go back into the water since it’s clear. Karren will be right by his side.

The episode featuring Karren and her grandson airs on Friday, July 5 at 10 p.m. on National Geographic. You can also check it out on Hulu and Disney Plus.

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