Charlize Zmuda, 17, was fatally attacked by a shark at Woorim Beach, Queensland. Her father, Steve Zmuda, initially didn’t realize the victim was his own daughter. “I said ‘Is it a fatality… do we know them’ … ‘Steve, I have to tell you, It’s Charlize’ … I screamed, all the neighbors came running out.” He struggled to tell his wife, Rene.Rene recalled the moment she found out. “[Steve] couldn’t talk … I screamed at him ‘just tell me!’ … not for one second thinking it would be…” She described Charlize as “a shining light who truly touched the lives of everyone she met.”
Steve, who runs the Nippers club at the beach, urged swimmers to follow safety rules. “She didn’t swim between the flags, and it cost her her life.” Still, he emphasized, “we don’t want people to stop coming to the beach.”Surf Life Saving Queensland mourned the loss of Charlize, a member since she was eight. “Our hearts are broken… No words can ease the pain.”“She was a dedicated lifesaver who wanted to only do the best for our club and all the people in our community.”
