Mississippi

Where is LeeBeth, the massive great white shark that swam off Mississippi Coast?

Published

1 year ago

January 31, 2025

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Where is LeeBeth, the massive great white shark that swam off Mississippi Coast?

‘I feel like if we have a dead whale this spring she might be on it. That shark is so large, there’s only a few things she’s interested in (eating) and it has to be large.’

A 14-foot, 2,600-pound great white shark that was caught and released off the coast of South Carolina was tracked for months with a GPS tag that was placed on her. She made an incredible journey to Mexico and then turned back, passed by the Mississippi Coast and swam to Nova Scotia where her GPS unit stopped transmitting.

It was a journey that was never before documented and she made headlines everywhere she went.

Will we ever hear from her again?

“The last time we heard from her was in October,” said Megan Winton, research scientist at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. “She was still in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

“She spent months in that area, and October is when sharks that are in Canada begin to move. That’s the last time we heard from her.”

How great white shark LeeBeth is tracked

LeeBeth was caught in December 2023 by Ed Young, pastor of the Dallas-Fort Worth mega-church Fellowship Church. Young was fishing with Chip Michalove of Outcast Sport Fishing based in South Carolina. Young named the shark after his daughter who died in 2021.

LeeBeth was outfitted with data collection devices including a GPS tag that transmitted her location whenever she breached the surface. There’s also a device that collects data such as depths that will at some point release, float to the surface and transmit the recorded data.

The final device is an acoustic transmitter. It will communicate whenever it nears acoustic receivers that are placed in the water by various research groups. Its life expectancy is 10 years.

The battery life in the GPS tag is generally about a year, but LeeBeth breached the surface so often that she transmitted her locations far more than other tagged great white sharks. That probably reduced the life-span of the battery.

“It’s likely the battery has died at this point,” Winton said. “She was pinging like crazy.”

Big sharks need big meals

LeeBeth’s travels could be followed through the AWSC Sharktivity app. Michalove, who has helped AWSC tag many great white sharks including LeeBeth, followed her closely.

“When she stopped pinging, I felt like I was gut-punched,” Michalove said. “She was like a kid to me.”

Even though LeeBeth’s GPS transmitter hasn’t sent a signal in months, Michalove said there’s a chance he’ll see her again. He said she likely has a set pattern of migration and will be off the coast of South Carolina this spring.

“I’ve studied her track over and over just trying to figure her path,” Michalove said. “I’m pretty confident I’ve got her down.

“I feel like if we have a dead whale this spring, she might be on it. That shark is so large, there’s only a few things she’s interested in (eating) and it has to be large. Fingers crossed I see her again and sooner than later. And, hopefully, not while I’m swimming.”

Why is LeeBeth being tracked?

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy studies the protected sharks. Winton said decades ago, the great white population was down about 80% from historic levels. Through protections, the population appears to be rebounding.

Winton said the group mainly focuses on the Cape Cod area. She said that’s because rebounding seal populations in that area are attracting the sharks in summer to feed on them and place the sharks near people.

With Cape Cod becoming a hotspot for white shark activity, Winton said the data collected from tagged sharks helps the group with outreach and education on managing interactions between humans and sharks.

As far as education and outreach go, LeeBeth has been instrumental due to her record-breaking travel from Mexico to Canada and the attention she has drawn.

“She’s quite the ambassador,” Winton said. “She has been such an interesting shark to follow.”

Have we heard the last from LeeBeth?

Maybe. Maybe not.

LeeBeth was tracked for thousands of miles as she traveled to the Gulf of Mexico where she appears to spend winters feeding on giant squid and then to the Gulf of St. Lawrence north of Nova Scotia where she spends summers feeding on seals. Last winter’s trek took her 20 miles south of Biloxi.

Both Winton and Michalove said they think she’s back in the Gulf of Mexico right now. While that is most likely true, knowing she’s in the Gulf isn’t quite as exciting as seeing her exact locations on a map in real time.

Although not the same, the acoustic transmitter may provide insight into her whereabouts. When she swims near an acoustic receiver, the units communicate. Some automatically transmit the detection, but most store the information and need to be pulled up periodically to download it.

“Hopefully we’ll be hearing from LeeBeth for the next nine years,” Winton said.

And there’s also the remote possibility that Michalove could catch her again and outfit her with a new GPS unit.

“The ocean is enormous and the odds are against us, but I’ve had recaptures before,” Michalove said.

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

Diamond Dawgs Set For Top 20 Showdown In Oxford – Mississippi State

Published

11 hours ago

March 26, 2026

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Diamond Dawgs Set For Top 20 Showdown In Oxford – Mississippi State

OXFORD – No. 6 Mississippi State carries momentum and confidence into one of college baseball’s fiercest rivalries this weekend, traveling to face No. 18 Ole Miss in a three-game Southeastern Conference series at Swayze Field.

The Diamond Dawgs arrive in Oxford riding a five-game winning streak and carrying plenty of momentum into one of the league’s premier matchups. MSU sits at 21-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play, while the Rebels enter at 19-6 and 3-3 in the SEC.

Mississippi State has been one of the most complete teams in the country through the first half of the season. The Bulldogs are hitting .347 as a team with a .452 on-base percentage and 39 home runs, consistently putting pressure on opposing pitching staffs. Ole Miss counters with plenty of power of its own, already launching 46 homers while posting a .500 slugging percentage.

The engine for State’s offense has been graduate outfielder Bryce Chance, who leads the SEC with a .452 batting average and has struck out just three times all season. All-American infielder Ace Reese continues to anchor the middle of the lineup with a team-high seven home runs and 34 RBIs, while Noah Sullivan and Aidan Teel provide consistent production around them to give the Diamond Dawgs one of the deepest lineups in the league.

Mississippi State will lean on its weekend rotation that has begun to separate itself as a strength. Left-hander Charlie Foster is expected to get the ball in Friday’s opener. The Bulldogs will then turn to sophomore standout Tomas Valincius on Saturday. The southpaw has been dominant, going 5-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 47 strikeouts, highlighted by a 14-strikeout performance in his last outing. Right-hander Duke Stone is slated for Sunday and brings a 4-0 record with him into the series.

Ole Miss is expected to counter with left-hander Hunter Elliott in the opener, a veteran arm with a 3-0 record and 44 strikeouts, followed by right-hander Hudson Calhoun on Saturday. The Rebels have yet to announce a starter for the series finale. As a staff, Ole Miss owns a 3.56 ERA with 293 strikeouts, setting up a matchup between two pitching groups capable of missing bats at a high level.

While the Bulldogs have dominated at home — winning 19 straight games at Dudy Noble Field dating back to last season — this weekend presents another opportunity for State to prove itself away from Starkville. MSU is 1-3 in true road games this year but has shown the ability to compete against elite competition throughout the early part of the schedule.

The rivalry history leans in Mississippi State’s favor, with the Bulldogs holding a 268-213-5 advantage in the all-time series. State has also won two straight meetings between the programs, adding another layer of confidence heading into the weekend.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the baseball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching ‘HailStateBB’ on X, Facebook and Instagram.Top of Form

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Mississippi

MS turkey hunter who thought hunt was ruined bags bird of a lifetime

Published

23 hours ago

March 26, 2026

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MS turkey hunter who thought hunt was ruined bags bird of a lifetime

‘I would call him a hybrid between a smoke phase and a red phase. He’s not a true smoke phase because of all the red in him.’

A Mississippi hunter bagged a rare, reddish-colored turkey after a frustrating start to his hunting season.
The turkey’s unique coloration is described as a hybrid between a smoke phase and a red phase.
According to a wildlife official, this genetic mutation is exceedingly rare, especially in male turkeys.

A Mississippi turkey hunter’s season wasn’t off to a good start, but with a change in plans, a little scouting, some luck thrown in, he bagged a rare reddish-colored turkey and it’s considered a bird of a lifetime.

“I’d been hunting the same bird since opening day,” said Barrett Clark of Strong, which is located near West Point. “He finally frustrated me enough to where I just needed to go look for another bird.”

Clark wasn’t able to connect with the gobbler he was after. So, on Friday, March 20, he decided to check another property. He located a few gobblers that afternoon, but one looked different. It appeared to have a lighter color than normal, but Clark figured it was just the way the sunlight was hitting the bird.

The following morning, Clark and his father, Larry Clark, returned to the area in hopes of getting a shot at one of the birds.

A turkey hunt that was almost ruined

“We met and went in early Saturday morning,” Clark said. “We were probably 300 yards away from him when he started gobbling. It was right at sunrise. He was gobbling off the roost.”

The gobbler flew off the roost and continued to gobble. Clark said he lightly called the bird. Then, a gunshot rang out from a nearby property and the gobbling stopped. To make matters worse, minutes later a coyote appeared and it looked like he was after the turkey that had been gobbling.

“That coyote came within 15 feet of my dad and ran straight to where the turkey had been gobbling,” Clark said. “We thought our hunt was boogered up.”

MS hunter shoots turkey with strange colors

The hunt wasn’t over, though. About 10 or 15 minutes later the gobbling resumed and Clark lightly called back. A little later, Clark saw a turkey through the trees in the neighborhood of 100 yards away.

“I was really just seeing his head move,” Clark said. “I would see his fan occasionally, but it was mostly just his head. I could tell he was lighter, but I really wasn’t focused on that. I was trying to stay still and make a good shot.”

Clark said he was hunting in pines that were maybe 10 years old, and the understory was thick. The bird came within 50 yards of him, but there was no shot. The bird began to walk away but stepped into an opening, and Clark pulled the trigger of his 20-gauge shotgun.

Clark still didn’t understand what he’d shot. He said it was only when he and his father got closer that they realized how unusual it was.

“We could tell it was something that neither of us had ever seen,” Clark said.

What is it, and how rare is this turkey?

The bird is a light rust or cinnamon color and lacks any normal coloration, but putting a label on it isn’t easy.

“I would call him a hybrid between a smoke phase and a red phase,” said Caleb Hinton, Wild Turkey Program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “He’s not a true smoke phase because of all the red in him.”

Hinton couldn’t put a number on it, but he said a genetic trait like this is very rare.

“Like all the genetic mutations, it’s exceedingly rare in the wild,” Hinton said.

And for a gobbler to express such a genetic trait is even more rare. Hinton said that upwards of 95% of the turkeys that express such traits will be hens, not gobblers.

“It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime trophy for the hunter,” Hinton said.

A lifelong outdoorsman and wildlife enthusiast, Brian Broom has been writing about hunting, fishing and Mississippi’s outdoors for the Clarion Ledger for more than 14 years. He can be reached at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

Portrait of former MS Speaker Philip Gunn added to House gallery

Published

1 day ago

March 25, 2026

Press Room

Portrait of former MS Speaker Philip Gunn added to House gallery

A portrait of former Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn was unveiled at the state Capitol.
Gunn was the first Republican Speaker in Mississippi in over 130 years, serving from 2012 to 2023.
The portrait, painted by Jason Bouldin, includes details like the new state flag, which Gunn championed.

Another portrait of a Mississippi Speaker of the House is set to grace the walls of the chamber.

More than 200 family members, legislators and Capitol staff came together March 25 to see the new portrait of former Speaker Philip Gunn. Gunn, who became the first Republican to occupy the position in more than 130 years when he was elected in 2012, served five terms in the body before opting not to seek re-election in 2023.

Gunn’s portrait is the sixth of the speaker series, and it was painted by Oxford-based artist Jason Bouldin, who also contributed the portrait of Gunn’s predecessor, former Speaker Billy McCoy. Bouldin and his father, Marshall Bouldin III, painted all six of the Speaker of the House portraits hanging in the Capitol.

“Painting contains an inherent challenge for us as the viewer,” Bouldin said at the portrait unveiling ceremony. “By its very nature, it lacks words. That doesn’t mean that paintings are necessarily silent.”

Bouldin brought viewers’ eyes to details in the painting, like the new Mississippi state flag, which Gunn led efforts to change in 2020, emblazoned in the corner. He placed Gunn on a simple, armless chair, he pointed out, the same chair that House junior pages use.

“I wanted this portrait to capture him as more of a person than as a speaker,” Bouldin said. “The goal for any portrait is not simply to look like somebody… That’s a relatively easy thing to do. It’s more important to get the feelings of a person.”

Gunn, he said, was surprised when Bouldin requested a day and a half to paint his portrait.

“I said, ‘My God, what are we going to do for a day and a half? Just take a picture and go paint,’” Gunn recounted at the ceremony. “But no, he wanted to get to know me and Lisa (Gunn’s wife). He wanted to find out what our values are and who I am as a person.”

Gunn thanked countless people in his speech, including his family, former colleagues in the House and Gov. Tate Reeves, who sat alongside him during the ceremony. He singled out the members of the Senate in attendance, emphasizing the importance of cooperation between the chambers to turn bills into laws.

He also touted what he considered the biggest successes of his tenure as speaker, including the change of the state flag and the legislation that led to the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

“Brighter days are ahead for Mississippi, but that bright future is not guaranteed,” he told the audience. “It took leadership for us to get here, and it’s going to take leadership for us to get there. I want to be a part of that.”

Bea Anhuci is the state government reporter for the Clarion Ledger. She has covered the Mississippi state legislature, and the people who make it run, since the start of the session. Email her at banhuci@usatodayco.com.

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