Deal police reported that lifeguards reported spotting two sharks approximately 100 yards off-shore from Deal Casino.
DEAL - Beachgoers were frantically ushered out of the water near Deal Casino and the Conover Pavilion on Thursday, after lifeguards spotted a gray, angular fin snaking its way through low tide.
For about an hour on Thursday morning, the ocean near the beach club was devoid of visitors as lifeguards temporarily closed off the water to monitor the area for suspected sharks.
Beachgoers were frantically ushered out of the water near Deal Casino and the Conover Pavilion on Thursday, after lifeguards spotted a gray, angular fin snaking its way through low tide. (Katie Park | For NJ.com) Deal police Sgt. William Hulse said lifeguards thought they saw two sharks near Conover Pavilion following a school of dolphins.
"No one was hurt," Hulse said. "Everyone was removed safely (from the water)."
Police sent out an alert at 11:55 a.m. notifying the public that a 6- to 7-foot shark was spotted approximately 100 yards off Deal Casino.
Lifeguards Jake Smolokoff and Robbie Greenberg told NJ Advance Media that they noticed fins that stood out from a pack of dolphins.
The creatures weren't moving like dolphins, Smolokoff said, because dolphins move in a uniform, straight path. The creatures also didn't come up for air like dolphins do, he said.
"We got everyone out of the water," Smolokoff said. "We informed police, then they got word from the Coast Guard at around 12:30 p.m. that we could reopen. We waited a couple minutes just to let everything settle in."
With the water at low tide, Smolokoff and his fellow lifeguards order everyone out.
"We figured it was too much of a risk to keep everyone in because the shark was coming in pretty close," Smolokoff said.
Deal police reported at 12:48 p.m. that beachgoers were allowed back in the water after there were no additional sighting of the shark.
The shark was last seen heading north toward Long Branch at around 11:30 a.m., following a pack of dolphins, Deal police said.
"Not fairly unusual," said Andrew Shawn, of Oakhurst, who was at the beach when the shark was spotted. "This is their home."