Minnesota woman dies after shark bites her arm off while in the US Virgin Islands

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. (Valley News Live/Gray News) - The police department in the U.S. Virgin Islands said a woman died in a shark attack that happened Thursday afternoon.

The 911 caller told the emergency center that a woman was bitten by a shark near Dorsch Beach in St. Croix.

The local fire department responded and confirmed that the woman lost an arm during the attack. She eventually died from her injuries at the hospital.

The woman was identified by the Virgin Islands Police Department as 56-year-old Arlene Lillis, of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

The man who rushed in to try to rescue Lillis from the waters spoke out about his efforts.

“I swam her back to shore as quick as I could and a bunch of people here tried to get her on the beach,” Christopher Carroll described.

The investigation into the attack is ongoing.