BAY NEWS 9 -- Detectives at the Martin County Sheriff's Office are investigating the death of a kite-board surfer who was attacked by a shark off the coast of Palm Beach on Wednesday.

A Martin County Fire Rescue Lifeguard at Stuart Beach told detectives that at about 4 p.m. he observed through his binoculars a kite-board surfer that seemed to be in distress.

The lifeguard entered the water and traveled about a quarter-mile offshore to help the victim, Stephen Howard Schafer, 38, of Stuart, Fla., who said he had been bitten by a shark.

Martin County Fire Rescue transported the victim to Martin Memorial Medical Center. The medical center reported that Howard had died, apparently from a shark bite wound.

The Office of the Medical Examiner will determine the exact cause of death