July 31, 2019 — A 19-year-old surfer who suffered a vicious shark bite last month was determined to face his fears as soon as his wounds healed.
Not only did Austin Reed return to the ocean just over a month after the attack, he went back to the exact site of the harrowing encounter, North Carolina’s Ocean Isle Beach.
“I went back to the spot where I got bit,” Reed told Willie Geist and Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Wednesday. “I thought that was the best way to get closure.”
Reed was one of five shark attack survivors who shared their stories on TODAY Wednesday.
He was joined by Keane Webre-Hayes, who needed 1,000 stitches after being attacked in California while lobster diving; Tiffany Johnson, a mother of three whose right arm was amputated after she was bitten while snorkeling in the Bahamas; Lola Pollina, who was bitten at New York’s Fire Island last year; and Jonathan Hernandez, who was attacked last month while spearfishing in the Bahamas.