Driver Crashes Into Delaware ‘Shark in a Box’ Landmark

ODESSA, Del. (AP) — A driver severely damaged an Odessa bait and tackle shop’s well-known “shark-in-a-box” display, a roadside attraction for more than 30 years.

The custom-made mako shark mount, hanging inside a wooden- and glass-enclosed shark tank outside of Captain Bones Bait & Tackle Shop has been a goofy and beloved Delaware landmark since 1989.

But in the early morning of Feb. 5, Captain Bones owner Pat Foley said she received a phone call from a family member that someone had apparently crashed their car into a guardrail off Du Pont Highway and then smashed into an electric sign outside her store.

The car’s driver also apparently slammed into the steel poles holding up the shark tank, Foley said.

The shark, wearing a Santa cap, was knocked off wires it was hanging from inside the tank, a glass panel was shattered and some of the wood structures were broken.

Foley said one of the shark’s fins snapped off.

“It’s not good,” Foley said Feb. 8. “The shark is damaged. It will have to get a spa day.”

The shark has been a part of the bait and tackle shop since it was built by Foley’s late husband, Danny, a union pipefitter whose nickname was “Captain Bones.”

When he first opened the store, Danny wanted a roadside attraction to bring in customers. He used to park his old crab boat outside the business.

He had an even better idea in 1989. He constructed a replica of an 840-pound toothy mako shark that was hauled from a charter boat called the Shamrock by his nephew Richard H. Reed, who then managed the store.

Reed and his fellow fishermen left from Indian River Inlet in Sussex County to catch the shark. Reed used a 12-pound bluefish as bait. His catch, at the time, set a Delaware record. The state record now for shortfin mako shark is 975 pounds.

The mount at Captain Bones was made in Florida with the shark’s exact measurements. (The Delaware anglers ate the meat — shark steaks are good eating — and kept some of the teeth.) A neighbor built the wooden box. Patty said her husband Danny, who died in 2001, would never tell her how much he spent on it.

Patty Foley said people have often told her they use the shark as a meeting place. Over the years, customers and motorists have snapped photos of the tank, and children have even written letters to the shop thanking the family for the shark attraction.

“We’re going to get it fixed,” she said Tuesday. “It means a lot to so many people.”

Foley said she has no idea how much it will cost to repair the landmark, but the response has been ” just overwhelming. People have been reaching out asking if there’s anything they can help with. People have been pulling in nonstop, taking pictures. A lot of people in the community want to help.”

While the shark mount was made in Florida, Foletny said that most likely Bill Petrick, a local taxidermist, and friend, will handle the repairs.

“It’s a whole thing. We need to get the shark out and get it in a flatbed trailer. And the whole showcase has to be rebuilt,” she said.

Foley said this isn’t the first time the shark tank has been hit by a car. Several years ago on a slippery, snowy Sunday afternoon, she said a driver crashed into a sign on her shop’s property and the vehicle slid underneath the shark tank.

The driver wasn’t injured and the shark had no structural damage.

This time, the shark wasn’t so lucky, but Foley said it “will be back. People really care about it. They have a lot of memories.”

About the photo: A replica shark, the trophy from a state record mako catch in 1989, sits broken and its display case battered outside Captain Bones bait and tackle shop on Feb. 8, 2022 in Odessa, Del., after the landmark sign and shark were battered by a car earlier this week. The shark has been a part of the bait and tackle shop since it was built. (William Bretzger/The News Journal via AP)