Devastated family of man mauled to death by a Great White Shark at Granites Beach pay tribute to ‘fiercely loyal, compassionate and caring’ victim

A young man who was bitten to death by a shark has been remembered by his devastated family as a ‘very loyal, compassionate and caring’ person.

The search for 28-year-old Lance Appleby will continue for almost four days 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 Appleby, one of seven children, died “doing what he loved” and now “will be forever young, forever surfing, forever loved.”

‘The pain we feel as a family is impossible to describe. We are absolutely devastated, and there is a gaping hole in our hearts,” said a social media post from the victim’s brother, Kenneth Appleby.

“The only comfort we can find is knowing that Lance was doing what he loved, with a bright smile on his face.

“Lance was the best brother we could ever ask for. He was caring, very loyal, compassionate and always up for adventure.

“He wore his heart on his sleeve and was never afraid to express or talk about his emotions.”

The heartfelt social media post, first revealed by The advertiserrevealed that Mr Appleby was loved by both his family and his wide circle of friends.

“He loved sports, traveling, FaceTiming family, coffee, bear hugs, fulfilling his uncle’s duties and most of all, spending time with his friends,” he said.

‘We would give anything to get him back. Forever young, forever surfing, forever loved.”

A GoFundMe page has also been created where money will go “toward a memorial, a plaque and the family’s financial burden.”

So far, it has raised over $52,000 in less than six hours.

It comes as family friend Jeff Schmucker recalled MR Appleby’s horrific final moments, which showed him being dragged underwater by a great white shark.

“He caught a wave, turned away from the wave and paddled back, and he was attacked,” Mr. Schmucker previously said. 7NEWS.

A man on a jet ski ran out to help Mr Appleby but could only find his board.

“He confirmed that the board had a bite mark on the bottom and the rope had been cut in half,” Mr Schmucker said.

The local fisherman said the close-knit community had been hit “so hard” by the attack.

A fisherman warned locals on social media about an ‘aggressive’ great white shark at Granite Beach just hours before Appleby was attacked.

It is not known whether Mr Appleby was aware of the warning.

Assistant Police Commissioner John De Candia confirmed on Friday that a report would be prepared for the coroner as the search for Mr Appleby’s body continues.

“It is a very sad and tragic circumstance for the family,” he told a news conference.

‘Any incident, such a tragedy, affects a wide variety of people… the immediate family, friends, colleagues, colleagues, it affects the police (and) other emergency services who also had to be present.

‘Any death under these circumstances is absolutely tragic and has a major impact on many people.’

The locals call for the shark to be hunted in lieu of Appleby’s death.

“If they want to do something about it, they need to do it now,” Schmucker said.

“The fishing industry has the power to issue a destruction order, but the government doesn’t have the balls.”

Mr Appleby was a keen surfer and played for the Marble Range Football Club.

He had traveled to Europe just months before the attack and had posted photos on 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 on the same beach in October 2023.

Mr Schmucker, who rushed out on a jet ski to rescue the surfer, said he saw Mr Gendle being pulled underwater by the huge shark.

Mr Schmucker said he was attacked and surrounded several times by a ‘large female’ shark.