Sister of bite victim speaks out on attack

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - Ashley McConnell and her brother, Jordan Tyler McConnell, rented jet skis for a day of fun on Orange Beach Tuesday. In just seconds, all that changed, as smiles turned to screams.

"I looked back, and I saw that he wasn't on his jet ski, and it immediately alarmed me. And so I rode the jets ski over to where he was and saw that his leg was cut open and bleeding perfusely," Ashley McConnell said.

Ashley and her mother thought fast, helping Jordan Tyler back on his jet ski, which he rode back to shore. Ashley already had help there waiting for him.

"I'll never forget the site of seeing my brother in the water, though, and the fear in his eyes and the determination to get back on the jet ski because he did know something was wrong, but he didn't know exactly what," Ashley McConnell said.

He also didn't know what had attacked him.

"Either the wave knocked him off or the shark itself knocked him off - or whatever it was knocked him off - and grabbed him real quick and left," Ashley McConnell said.

It left Tyler with serious injuries to his right foot and ankle. He was taken by Life-Flight to Baptist hospital for what became a three-hour procedure.

"What was orgininally thought to be about a 45 minute surgery turned into staying that long because of the amount of tendons that were shredded from the accident," Ashley McConnell said.

Ashley told FOX10 News that the McConnells have not left Jordan's side, and this whole event has brought them closer together.

"It's made us reevaluate our family roles and the dynamics and how lucky we are to have witnessed and survived such an emotional event," Ashley McConnell said.

The event will most likely leave Tyler with a permanent limp and a few more surgeries to endure. However, the McConnell family is happy to report he's doing just fine.

No word yet on what exactly attacked Tyler.