Locals describe Lance Appleby’s final moments before shark attack on Eyre Peninsula

Locals have described the horrifying moment an experienced surfer was taken by a shark on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.

Lance Appleby, 28, was in the water off Granites Beach when it’s understood he was dragged under by a great white and disappeared just after 7pm on Thursday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Town in mourning after experienced surfer killed in shark attack

“He caught a wave and flipped off the wave and proceeded to paddle back, and he was attacked,” family friend and shark fisherman Jeff Schmucker told 7NEWS.

Appleby, who has been described as a “ripping young man” is a Streaky Bay local, and was most at home in the surf.

On Thursday, he paddled out like he has done since he was a kid, but this time he did not come back.

A jet skier raced out but could only find Appleby’s board.

“He confirmed that the board had a bite mark in the bottom and the rope was severed in half,” Schmucker said.

The bite marks will help identify the shark involved.

The local police station was closed on Friday to allow authorities to properly interview witnesses and those in the water during the attack. Retrieval teams with drones have been scouring the coastline looking for the surfer’s body.

Schmucker said the news had rocked the region.

“It just hits everyone so hard, particularly the locals. They just play in the ocean all the time,” he said.

Only hours before the tragedy, an alert was posted on social media that a big and aggressive great white was circling nearby.

Whether Appleby knew about the danger is not clear.

The search for his body has been suspended for the day but will resume on Saturday with the assistance of local and water police, STAR Group officers, and local marine rescue and State Emergency Service volunteers.

Granites is the same beach where surfer Tod Gendle, 55, was killed by a great white in October 2023.

Tragically, his body has never been found, but Appleby’s family is praying for closure.

Locals told 7NEWS that some people have been talking about catching and killing the shark, suggestions they say are being driven largely by emotion and anger.

Great white sharks are a protected species.

“If they want to do something about it, they should do it now. Fisheries have the power to give a destruction order, but the government doesn’t have the balls,” Schmucker said.

The beach remains closed as of Friday afternoon, with members of the public advised to avoid the area.