Drone captures shark lurking close to family

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A family's drone captured a shark swimming dangerously near them.

Dan and Sally Watson were at New Smyrna Beach last Sunday with their three children, Grace, Jonathan and Landon, when they captured a stunning photo of a shark lurking near the children in the water.

Dan, who is a professional photographer, was flying the drone over his children to take photos when he spotted a shadowy figure near them in the water. 

He quickly asked his wife to get the children out. 

“I was at the edge of the water and the kids were standing in the water, and I was screaming, ‘Get out, get out, get out!’” Sally said. “I didn’t know why, and so he immediately brings the drone to me, and shows me the frame in the drone. You see that shark swimming right at our kids. It was terrifying.”

Another photo captured the children running out of the water and the shark swimming in the opposite direction. 

“It was a God moment, because he was just going to fly the drone for fun, and it was just for a fun picture. But to see that my children were in knee-deep water and you see this big shark approaching them, it’s humbling to know that, and I’m thankfully he put that drone up at that moment,” Sally said.

Volusia County officials say Sunday, June 30, an 18-year-old surfer was bitten on the foot by a shark in New Smyrna. 

He suffered minor lacerations and was not transported. 

He is expected to be OK.

Wildlife officials tell The News Station that sharks sometimes confuse humans for prey. That’s why often they will bite, then let go.