Girl finds megalodon tooth during spring break trip to NC beach

NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH, NC (WECT) - A middle-schooler on spring break is bringing home some pretty big treasures. Avery Fauth found a megalodon shark tooth on the beach in North Topsail Monday.

The megalodon went extinct millions of years ago and was the largest shark ever documented.

“I’m looking around and I see something buried in the sand. I uncovered it and it keeps coming, and it’s this big tooth, and then I hold it up and I’m screaming for my mom,” she said.

Fauth and her family search for shark teeth, especially megalodons, every time they’re on the beach. Fauth’s dad has been looking for one for more than 20 years and got his three daughters interested in the hunt.

“I was pretty surprised [that she found one]. I’ve been looking for 25 years and I haven’t found anything," Fauth’s dad said. “I was really shocked and excited for her that she found something that big."

As if one shark tooth wasn’t cool enough, Fauth and her sisters found five others, including a few great white shark teeth. Her family said she holds the prize, though, for finding the biggest tooth.

“I was just like is this a dream, because I didn’t believe I found it, and then I took it out and it was one [a megalodon]," Fauth said. “They’re really rare to find and they’re some pretty big teeth and they’re pretty cool."

Fauth she plans to tell her class in Raleigh about it when she gets back from spring break. She won’t bring the tooth in though, scared someone may break it. It will sit in a “special box" at home instead.

The megalodon shark went extinct millions of years ago, meaning the tooth could be up to almost three million years old.

Copyright 2019 WECT. All rights reserved.