Utah Nurse Honored for Heroism After Shark Attack in St. Croix
When Chris Carroll and his wife flew to the Caribbean to celebrate their wedding anniversary, he expected a week of calm seas and coral reefs, not a life‑and‑death rescue.
But on a January morning in St. Croix, the Utah nurse found himself pulled into a moment that would test both his courage and compassion. Carroll, an RN and director of surgical services at Holy Cross Hospital–Mountain Point in Lehi, responded instinctively, doing everything he could to help.
From the second-floor balcony of his hotel, Carroll heard what he described as an “ungodly scream.” Scanning the water, his eyes locked on a woman struggling about 50 yards offshore. Without hesitation, he sprinted down to the beach and dove in.
Source: Fox13
According to Carroll, “I called out to her, and when she turned around to look at me, I saw that her left arm was gone. And so at that moment, I knew it was a shark attack.”
“I knew it was a big shark and that it was aggressive. That’s when it became really terrifying. I kind of had the urge to swim away. But I just decided at that moment that I wasn’t going to leave her out there. And so I swam over. I grabbed her, put her in the tow position, and started swimming her back to shore,” he said.
Carroll admits it was one of the most terrifying events of his life. “I asked her name, she told me her name was Arlene, asked if she had family, kids, she was conscious all the way to the beach, but that was the longest, most terrifying swim of my entire life,” he continued.
Despite his efforts and help from bystanders and first responders, Arlene, 56, from Minnesota, later died from her injuries. Still, locals called Carroll’s actions nothing short of heroic.
Weeks later, the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Albert Bryan Jr., invited Carroll to Government House to thank him personally. “We are grateful to the bystanders who acted immediately to render aid and to the first responders who worked urgently and bravely in an effort to save her life,” the governor said, applauding Carroll’s bravery and compassion.
At home in Spanish Fork, Carroll’s coworkers weren’t surprised by his actions. “That’s just Chris,” one colleague said. “He’s the kind of person who runs toward someone in need.”
Interestingly, he learned that Arlene was a pharmacist and was working in a hospital at the time of her death. He has kept in touch with her husband and daughter since the incident.
For Carroll, the event reinforced a lifelong belief. “Nursing is not just a job to me. It’s a calling. Firefighters, police, soldiers, doctors, nurses – all of us are called to help people when they’re in trouble and when they’re at risk. And so it was a natural thing to do.”
Even after tragedy, Carroll hopes something good endures. “If anything comes out of this,” he said, “I just want people to care enough about each other to help—in any way you can.”
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