Hilton Head Island charter fishing captain Chip Michalove, a Kentucky native and longtime Big Blue fan, is hoping to use a Great White Shark to solve a crime.
In 2016, 14-year old Grace Sulak was killed in a hit-and-run accident on eastbound I-26 near the 134-mile marker. The driver of the truck has never been found (see police bulletin below).
Michalove recently landed a 15-foot Great White Shark of the HHI coast and named her Grace in hopes of bringing awareness to the case.
Here are more details on the story from Fitsnews.com:
Grace is named after Grace Sulak, a Bluffton teen who was killed in a hit-and-run accident on eastbound I-26 near the 134-mile marker in May 2016. She was 14 years old and on her way back from a track meet in Columbia with her best friend and her mother when she was killed.
“I called Grace’s parents that evening and said ‘I know we’ve never spoken, and this is going to sound crazy as ever and feel free to say no, but I think it would be great to name the largest shark we’ve tagged this year after Grace,’” Michalove told FITSNews.
Michalove said he was incredibly nervous making the call.
“You just never know how people will react when it comes to heartache of this magnitude,” he said. “But they giggled and said it’s fantastic — Grace was an aspiring marine biologist and how she would love it.”
Michalove knows how the internet goes crazy over the great white sharks he catches, tags, and releases for scientific study. A few of them have made national headlines and caught the eyes of millions.
“A lot of these sharks go viral, so I thought let’s force this story to get the attention the family deserves,” he said
Moments before her death, Grace’s friend’s mother saw a four-door Dodge Ram 2500 pick-up truck coming up rapidly behind them on I-26,” People Magazine reported. She swerved out of the truck’s way, but they were struck from behind and her vehicle hit a tree in Calhoun County. Grace died immediately.
Anyone with information on the fatal accident, call the Highway Patrol at 843-953-6010.
On a personal level, Michalove is a good friend and an even better guy. I’m asking all readers to take a moment to share this article and hopefully find the person or persons responsible for this young girl’s death.
