Local

12-foot great white shark 'Hilton' spotted near coast of NC

CAPE LOOKOUT, N.C. — A 12-foot great white shark named Hilton has been spotted near the North Carolina coast, WGHP said.

Hilton, who is described as 12 feet long and 1,300 pounds, was first caught and tagged by researchers off the coast of Hilton Head in March, which is how he got his name.

Since then, the shark has been tracked in the area near North Carolina and South Carolina dozens of times, OCEARCH said.

Hilton is fitted with a tag that pings to transmit his location when his fins break the surface.

Hilton was spotted Sunday off Cape Lookout around 1 p.m., which is one of the barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina.

OCEARCH's Global Shark Tracker indicates that Hilton had swum 120 miles (193 kilometers) during the preceding 72 hours, and had pinged off Orlando, Florida, nine days before his appearance in southeastern North Carolina, indicating good health.

Hilton has his own Twitter account to track his movements.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com: