26-year-old Richard Pinder, a young Spanish Wells fisherman with the fishing vessel “Water Spout” was attacked by a shark near the island of Andros on Friday morning, December 11th. Richard has reportedly suffered injuries, to his hands, thigh and upper body, but no information has been received on the severity and extent of his injuries. The circumstances surrounding the incident are also not clear.
US Coast Guard responded to the call from the vessel and has trasported the injured man to hospital. The young man is the son of Chuck and Susie Pinder of Spanish Wells. He is married to Ashley Pinder, and the couple has a four year old son.
UPDATE: Sunday, December 13th, 2015.
On Friday evening, December 11th, 2015, Richard Pinder’s family reported that he had made it into Miami after a long day of waiting and had headed into surgery on Friday evening, with hopes of saving his left thumb and index finger. He was said to have lost a lot of blood as a result of the shark attack earlier in the day on Friday, and had sustained three bites on his thigh, as well as a gash above his right knee in addition to the injuries on his left hand.
On Saturday, December 12th, Richard’s family shared via a public online post that he was doing relatively well and in good spirits, adding, ” The doctors have mended the muscle and tissue in the thumb and put a pin in place to hold the index finger straight. Because of risk of infection, doctors want to give him a few days to heal before repairing the missing tendon and bone fracture. He will need more surgeries to restore the top of the hand and tendons controlling the index finger and eventually skin grafts. The bites on his thigh are not a huge concern, but are still open. Doctors want to ensure the wounds are clear of infection before attempting to treat them any further.” The family expressed their thanks for the prayers, calls, messages and out pouring of love, also saying, “Thank you everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers. We are so thankful to God for his goodness.”
