Great white shark washes up on South Carolina beach in rare, unusual stranding

Great white shark strandings are very rare in South Carolina, as these animals are typically only winter visitors. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

A great white shark washed up on South Carolina's Myrtle Beach earlier this month in a rare and unusual stranding — and the reason behind the beaching remains a mystery. 

The 10-foot-long (3 meters) female was alive when locals saw it in the shallows on April 3. "There were multiple attempts to get the shark back in the ocean but it kept washing back ashore and eventually stopped breathing," Crystal Alden, a local who participated in the rescue effort, wrote in a post on Facebook.