A young man who was mauled to death by a shark has been remembered as a ‘fiercely loyal, compassionate and caring’ person by his devastated family.
The search for Lance Appleby, 28, is about to enter its four day after he was attacked by a suspected Great White Shark at Granites Beach, about 700km from Adelaide, just after 7pm on Thursday.
His family said Mr Appleby, who was one of seven children, died ‘doing what he loved’ and will now be ‘forever young, forever surfing, forever loved’.
‘The pain we are feeling as a family is impossible to describe. We are absolutely devastated, and there is a gaping hole in our hearts,’ a post on social media by the victim’s brother Kenneth Appleby read.
‘The only solace we can find is knowing that Lance was doing what he loved, with a beaming smile on his face.
‘Lance was the best brother we could ever ask for. He was caring, fiercely loyal, compassionate, and always up for an adventure.
‘He wore his heart on his sleeve and was never afraid to express his emotions or talk about them.’
The heartfelt social media post, first revealed by The Advertiser, revealed that Mr Appleby was beloved by his family as well as his wide circle of mates.
Experienced surfer Lance Appleby, 28, (pictured) was attacked by a shark at Granites Beach about 700km from Adelaide just after 7pm on Thursday
His family said Mr Appleby, who was one of seven children, died ‘doing what he loved’ and will now be ‘forever young, forever surfing, forever loved’ (pictured: a haunting photo of Mr Appleby in the surf several years ago surrounded by what appeared to be dolphins)
‘He loved sports, travelling, FaceTiming family, coffees, bear hugs, fulfilling his uncle duties, and most of all, spending time with his mates,’ he said.
‘We would give anything to have him back. Forever young, forever surfing, forever loved.’
A GoFundMe page has also been created with money going ‘towards a memorial, plaque and family financial burdens’.
It has so far raised over $52,000 in less than six hours.
It comes as family friend Jeff Schmucker recalled MR Appleby’s horrific final moments revealing he was dragged underwater by a Great White shark.
‘He caught a wave and flipped off the wave and proceeded to paddle back, and he was attacked,’ Mr Schmucker previously told 7NEWS.
A man on a jet ski raced out to assist Mr Appleby but could only find his board.
‘He confirmed that the board had a bite mark in the bottom and the rope was severed in half,’ Mr Schmucker said.
‘Lance (pictured, left) was the best brother we could ever ask for. He was caring, fiercely loyal, compassionate, and always up for an adventure,’ his devastated family said
The local fisherman said the close-knit community had been hit ‘so hard’ by the attack.
A fisherman alerted locals about an ‘aggressive’ Great White shark at Granite Beach on social media just hours before Mr Appleby was attacked.
It is not known if Mr Appleby was aware of the warning.
Assistant Police Commissioner John De Candia on Friday confirmed a report would be prepared for the coroner as the search for Mr Appleby’s body continues.
‘It’s a very sad and tragic circumstance for the family,’ he told a press conference.
‘Any such incident such tragedy affects a wide variety of people… the immediate family, friends, work mates, colleagues, it affects the police (and) other emergency services that had to attend as well.
‘Any death is, in these circumstances, is absolutely tragic and does have a wide impact on lots of people.’
Locals are calling for the shark to be hunted down in lieu of Mr Appleby’s death.
‘If they want to do something about it, they should do it now,’ Mr Schmucker said.
‘Fisheries have the power to give a destruction order, but the government doesn’t have the balls.’
The desperate search for Mr Appleby’s body following a horrific shark attack continues
Mr Appleby was a keen surfer and played for the Marble Range Football Club.
He had travelled to Europe just several months before the attack and posted pictures to Facebook of his visits to London and Amsterdam.
The search for Mr Appleby follows the death of Tod Gendle, who was killed by a four-metre Great White shark while surfing at the same beach in October, 2023.
Mr Schmucker, who raced out on a jet ski to try to save the surfer, said he saw Mr Gendle being pulled underwater by the huge shark.
Mr Schmucker said he was attacked and circled several times by a ‘big female’ shark.
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