Shark sighting near Bodega Bay scuttles Sonoma County sheriff's training plans

A fearsome visitor in the Estero Americano Tuesday afternoon caught the attention of a passing Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter crew, which filmed from above as great white shark made its way through the estero’s shallow waters.

Estimated at 14 feet, the shark was seen swimming in the area about 3 p.m.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office was patrolling the coast area and considering some water training, the Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post: “Nope! The crew looked down and saw this beauty at the mouth of the Estero Americano in shallow water.”

The crew had been in the same water on Monday, officials said. The estero is south of Bodega Bay and forms the border between Sonoma and Marin counties.

About four weeks ago, a surfer offshore of North Salmon Creek Beach got into a tussle with a great white shark, which caught her surfboard leash in its mouth and thrashed before swimming away. Such sharks are regularly seen in Bodega Bay and at the mouth of Tomales Bay, mostly by fishermen and boaters.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.