Lifeguard’s Close Call
Rare Shark Encounter Leaves Maine Lifeguard Unscathed

Photo/Wikimedia Commons

August 8, 2026 – 71-year-old veteran lifeguard Greg Wilfert survived a harrowing encounter at Scarborough Beach State Park that he will likely never forget. During a routine patrol swim about 50 yards offshore, a sudden, powerful force snagged his yellow rescue buoy and dragged him five to six feet underwater.

Greg Wilfert. Photo/Video Capture

Initially mistaking the incident for a passing boat propeller catching his gear, Wilfert quickly deduced that a huge shark had clamped onto the buoy. Reacting instinctively, he immediately shed his buoy harness strap and swam full speed to the surface and back to shore. A bystander on the beach reported seeing the flotation device shoot six- to eight-feet out of the water shortly thereafter.

Unharmed by the terrifying encounter, Wilfert, who also serves as the Scarborough Beach director, later joked that his frantic sprint to safety could have beaten Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.

The size and species of shark could not be definitively determined as Wilfert never actually got a glimpse of the perpetrator during the encounter, but he emphasized that the sheer force pulling him down was unlike anything he had ever felt in his 55 years on the water. That, he reasoned, proved it was a powerful creature. He believes it was a great white

Since the attack, Scarborough Beach State Park has been running increased safety measures by deploying active monitoring tools like Jet Skis, drones, and rescue dogs, alongside heightened lifeguard patrols and public advisories to watch for nearshore shark activity.

Despite increasing shark sightings and encounters with juvenile sharks throughout New England in recent years, unprovoked attacks remain a rarity along the Maine coast. In fact, there were no such attacks reported in 2025, and Wilfert’s close call is the only major encounter so far in 2026. Historically, Maine has recorded only one deadly shark attack in its history. On July 27, 2020, a 63-year-old woman was fatally bitten by a great white shark while swimming off Bailey Island in Harpswell.

Since Wilfert’s encounter, Scarborough Beach State park has increased its safety measures by deploying monitoring tools like Jet Skis, drones, and rescue dogs –  alongside heightened lifeguard patrols and public advisories – to watch for nearshore shark activity.

Written by Tom Schlichter