Grandmother who died from shark attack in US Virgin Islands was 'genuinely kind': Neighbor
A 56-year-old Minnesota woman died from a shark attack Thursday afternoon at Dorsch Beach in the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to officials.
Emergency services received multiple calls around 4:28 p.m. reporting that a woman had been bitten while in the water, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Marine units, along with fire and emergency medical services, responded to the scene on St. Croix and found the woman had suffered the loss of an arm during the attack, police said.
The woman -- identified by her family as Arlene Lillis -- died from her injuries, police said. First responders recovered her personal items from the water, including identification, officials said.
The Department of Planning and Natural Resources confirmed on Friday that the death was the result of a shark bite, though the species involved could not be determined.
Authorities initially believed there may have been a second victim, but a search of the surrounding beach area by St. Croix Rescue did not find anyone else injured.
Lillis had owned a home on St. Croix for several years though started being a winter resident on the island last year, according to her neighbor, Andrew Gamble, who said people are in shock over the incident.
He remembered Lillis as a "proud mother" and new grandmother who "deeply loved St. Croix."
"Arlene was active and fun-loving, and above all she was genuinely kind," Gamble told ABC News. "She loved hiking, the water, and snorkeling, and she had a deep love for animals."
Last winter, she fostered and nursed a feral beach dog back to health, he said.
"She treated everybody -- people, animals -- the same way: with great love," he said.
-ABC News' Gaby Vinick contributed to this report.
