When Steve Zmuda heard sirens and learned about a shark attack at the beach, he started calling his friends. What he never imagined was that the swimmer involved was his own 17-year-old daughter, Charlize Zmuda.

Steve recalled the devastating moment he learned the news every parent dreads. “I asked, ‘Is it a fatality? Do we know them?’ Then someone said, ‘Steve, it’s Charlize.’ I screamed, and all the neighbors came running.”

He tried to reach his wife, Rene, but couldn’t find the strength to tell her their daughter was the victim.

“[Steve] couldn’t talk, and I didn’t know what was going on,” Rene told the Daily Telegraph. “I screamed, ‘Just tell me!’ Not for a second did I think it was Charlize.”

Rene rushed to the ambulance, needing to see her daughter to believe it was true.

“She was a shining light who touched the lives of everyone she met,” Rene said.

Steve, who runs the Nippers club at Woorim Beach where the attack happened, reminded swimmers to stay between the red and yellow flags, something Charlize didn’t do that day, which cost her life. Still, he urged people not to fear the beach.

“We don’t want people to stop coming and enjoying our beach,” Steve told 9News.

Charlize had been a member of the club since she was eight and was a dedicated lifesaver who cared deeply about her community.

Surf Life Saving Queensland paid tribute, saying, “Charlize and her family have been a cherished part of our community, and our hearts are broken. We stand together, offering our deepest sympathies and support.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the grieving family.