Great white shark Mary Lee returns to NJ shore in time for Mother’s Day

It seems Mary Lee, the Jersey Shore's most popular Great White shark, has headed back to the coast just in time for Mother's Day.

The 3,400-pound great white hasn't been seen in New Jersey for nearly six months, but according to OCEARCH, the group responsible for tagging and tracking her, Mary Lee was headed back to South Jersey. After spending time up and down the eastern seaboard, OCEARCH detected a "ping" on the shark's tracker at about 8:52 p.m. Friday, placing her roughly 40 miles south of Atlantic City.

The 16-foot shark, named Mary Lee after OCEARCH expedition leader Chris Fischer's mother, was originally tagged on Sept. 17, 2012 in Cape Cod, according to the research  group's website. The shark has become somewhat of an internet sensation, with more than 92,000 followers on Twitter, who have spent the past few days welcoming their beloved sea creature back to the area and wishing her a Happy Mother's Day.

Mary Lee's last visit to the Jersey Shore was back in December, when she spent some time in the waters off the Atlantic City coast. OCEARCH gets a ping from the 3,500-pound shark every time her dorsal fin surfaces.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.