Swimmer in Maine Is Killed by Great White Shark in Rare Attack

In the first recorded fatal shark attack in Maine’s history, a woman was killed this week by a great white as she swam in the ocean off the state’s coast, the authorities said.

The woman, identified as Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, was swimming with her daughter about 20 yards offshore near Bailey Island when she was attacked on Monday afternoon, Commissioner Patrick Keliher of the Maine Department of Marine Resources said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Nearby kayakers brought her to shore and emergency response workers were called to the scene, where she was declared dead. The daughter, whose name was not released, was not injured and was able to swim back and get out of the water, he said.

The commissioner said that a recovered tooth fragment was used to confirm that it was a great white shark.