A community is in mourning tonight after a 28-year-old surfer was attacked by a shark off South Australia’s west coast. Authorities spent the day searching for the body of Lance Appleby. His friends and football club described him as a "good bloke" and a well-loved community member.
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00:00This beach on South Australia's far west coast has world-class waves, but tragedy struck
00:08the surf break last night when avid surfer Lance Appleby was taken by a shark at Granites
00:14Beach near Streaky Bay.
00:16His surfboard was recovered, but there's still no sign of the 28-year-old despite a large
00:22scale search.
00:25His football club on the Gold Coast, where Mr Appleby has been living the last two years,
00:30said he was about to be named vice-captain for the 2025 season.
00:35His club stated, he missed six games last season but was still named equal best and
00:41fairest and more importantly than his football skill was the fact he was a good bloke, a
00:47champion man.
00:49His death is the fourth fatal shark attack in South Australia over the past 20 months.
00:5455-year-old Todd Jindal was killed by a shark at the same beach in October 2023.
01:00140 kilometres away, 46-year-old teacher Simon Baccanello was taken near Elliston and 15-year-old
01:08Kai Cowley died at Ethel Beach on the York Peninsula.
01:12There have also been non-fatal attacks at Elliston, Port Nolunga and Beachport in the
01:18south east.
01:19Some locals say they've been concerned about shark activity in the area for the past several
01:25days.
01:26Many of them had posted warnings to social media that a large aggressive great white
01:31shark had been spotted here at the Granites just hours before the attack.
01:36No, it's known for being a sharky area and we were a bit nervous about it seeing heaps
01:43of surfers out there on the breaks.
01:46Sometimes it's best to listen to the locals, but at the end of the day people need to make
01:50up their own minds in relation to enjoying the ocean.
01:54The search will continue tomorrow.