staff report

A white shark dubbed Hilton recently made a close approach to the Florida Panhandle and is now headed for the Mississippi River delta in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the shark-tracking website Ocearch.org .

The shark was originally caught and tagged off the coast of Hilton Head, S.C., and was named after the community.

It measures 12 feet, 5 inches in length and weighs a whopping 1,326 pounds.

So far, Hilton has swum almost 10,000 miles since it was tagged, Ocearch says.