Reported shark attack closes Kihei beaches.

Woman with foot laceration helped from waters off Charley Young Beach .

A 60-year-old Kihei woman had her right foot lacerated by what she believes was a shark Wednesday morning while she was floating in the water off Charley Young Beach, Maui police reported. 

State conservation and resources enforcement officers ordered the beaches in the area closed, although Maui District supervising officer Randy Awo said no one had seen what attacked Karen Miller. 

Awo said the beaches, including three Kamaole Beach parks and the shoreline along Kalama Beach Park, were posted with shark warning signs through this morning. Today, state aquatic specialists will survey the ocean and determine whether it is safe to allow people back into the water, he said. 

At the beach, Miller was helped to shore by Brian Rothstein, a resident of the Charley Young Beach area, who said he heard her calling for help as she was in the shore break. 

Lifeguards at Kamaole Beach Park I were called and took Miller to their lifeguard station, where they began first aid on her foot until an ambulance crew with American Medical Response arrived to take her to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Maui County ocean safety officer Rick Patrizio said Miller lost a lot of blood until they were able to put pressure on her wounds. 

She was reported in stable condition Wednesday afternoon at the hospital, after undergoing surgery on her foot. Police Lt. Danny Matsuura, commander of the Kihei Patrol District, said Miller reported she had been in the water about 10 yards offshore when she felt the bite on her foot. She said she did not see what had bitten her, but she suspected it was a shark. 

Rothstein, manager of the Kihei Starbucks Coffee shop, said the water off the Kamaole area was murky with storm runoff from recent rains and was stirred up by the south swells that hit the Kihei coastline Tuesday. He said he was at the beach with his wife and daughter but decided to stay out of the water because of the conditions.