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List of fatal alligator attacks in the United States

(Redirected from Alligator attacks in Florida)

This is a list of fatal alligator attacks in the United States in reverse chronological order by decade. All occurred in the South, where alligators are endemic to wetlands and tidal marshes. The state of Florida, where most attacks and deaths occur, began keeping records of alligator attacks in 1948.[1]

Warning sign, Texas
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

2020s

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Date Victim Location — Circumstances
September 23, 2023 Sabrina Peckham, 41, female Florida, Pinellas County, Largo, near Clearwater — A witness spotted a large alligator with a human torso clenched in its jaws in an irrigation canal. The coroner determined the victim was attacked and partially eaten by a 13' 8" alligator after recovering several of her body parts from its stomach. Peckham was homeless, and had been trespassing on wetland property less than a mile from where her remains were found. The alligator was killed by an officer. Sheriff’s Deputies released body camera footage a few months after the incident.[2][3][4]
July 4, 2023 Holly Jenkins, 69, female South Carolina, Hilton Head Island — The victim was attacked and killed by an alligator as she was walking her dogs in her neighborhood of Spanish Wells. First responders were not immediately able to reach the victim because the alligator had crawled out of the water and was "guarding" her body.[5][6]
February 20, 2023 Gloria Serge, 85, female Florida, Fort Pierce — The victim was walking her dog next to a pond at the Spanish Lakes Fairways retirement community. The alligator first attacked the dog and when the woman tried to save the dog, she too was attacked. The dog survived.[7][8]
August 15, 2022 Nancy Becker, 88, female South Carolina — The victim was in her backyard in a gated Sun City community in Bluffton, and was attacked by a nearly 10-foot-long alligator. The victim's body was found being guarded by the alligator and was later recovered.[9]
July 15, 2022 Rose Marie Wiegand, 80, female Florida, Englewood — The victim fell into a pond along a golf course and was attacked by two alligators.[10][11]
June 24, 2022 Michael Burstein, 75, male South Carolina, Myrtle Beach — The victim was dragged into a pond. The victim's body was recovered later and a subsequent post-mortem established that Mr Burstein drowned.[12]
May 31, 2022 Sean McGuinness, 47, male Florida, Largo — The victim was attacked while trying to retrieve frisbee golf discs in the lake at John S. Taylor Park. Police believed McGuinness had entered the lake during nighttime hours, as his body did not appear to have been in the lake for a long period when a person walking their dog discovered it along the shoreline with its arm torn off around 8:00 a.m.[13]
August 30, 2021 Timothy Satterlee, 71, male Louisiana — The victim was attacked in floodwaters of Hurricane Ida near the city of Slidell, which is just across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. The attack was witnessed by the victim's wife, who said the alligator bit his arm off.[14][15] A 12-foot-long alligator believed to have attacked Satterlee was captured and killed on September 13, 2021. Human remains were found in its stomach.[16] Although Louisiana, like Florida, has approximately 1.5 million alligators, this was Louisiana's only known fatal alligator attack.[17]
May 1, 2020 Cynthia Covert, 58, female South Carolina — The victim was pulled under and drowned by an alligator in a pond behind a home near Salt Cedar Lane, Kiawah Island.[18][19]

2010s

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Date Victim Location — Circumstances
August 20, 2018 Cassandra Cline, 45, female South Carolina — Dragged to her death while walking her dog near a golf course in the gated community of Sea Pines in Hilton Head. Witnesses said Cline was attempting to protect her dog when the alligator pulled her into a lagoon. The dog was unharmed.[20]
June 8, 2018 Shizuka Matsuki, 47, female Florida — Dragged to her death and dismembered while walking dogs at the Silver Lake Rotary Nature Park in Davie.[21]
July 29, 2016 Bonnie Walker, 90, female South Carolina — Walker's body was found in a retention pond near Brookdale Senior Living Center in Charleston. According to coroners, she died from "multiple sharp and blunt force injuries" that are consistent with those inflicted by an alligator.[22]
June 14, 2016 Lane Graves, 2, male Florida — An alligator, 4 to 7 feet long, dragged the victim under water in the Seven Seas Lagoon about 9:00 p.m. on June 14, 2016, at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa just outside of Orlando. His parents tried to rescue him; the father was attacked by a second alligator. The victim's body was found nearby the next day, intact and apparently drowned.[23][24][25][26]
June 5, 2016 (on or about) Richard Zachary Taylor, 72, male Florida — Police recovered Taylor's body after a report of an alligator with a body in its mouth near Lake Hunter in Lakeland. A trapper responded a short time later and eventually caught the alligator. Detectives do not know whether Taylor drowned or was killed by the reptile. His body was decomposed, indicating he had been in the water a couple of days or longer. Remains found inside the alligator during a necropsy were a match to Taylor.[27]
November 13, 2015 (on or about) Matthew Riggins, 22, male Florida — A police dive team found the victim's body in a pond in Micco Barefoot Bay community in Brevard County ten days after he was reported missing. Riggins, who had been burglarizing homes in the area, was attacked and partially eaten by an 11-foot (3.4 meters) alligator.[28][29]
October 19, 2015 James Okkerse, 62, male Florida — Okkerse was killed while swimming/snorkeling by a 12-foot (3.7 meters) alligator at Blue Spring State Park near Orange City. The final cause of death was determined by the Volusia County medical examiner's office in consultation with a forensic odontologist from a neighboring county who specializes in animal bites.[30][31][32]
July 4, 2015 Tommie Woodward, 28, male Texas — After an 11-foot alligator appeared at Burkarts Marina in Orange bystanders were told to stay out of the water. Tommie Woodward mocked the alligator and jumped into the water in close proximity to the alligator and was immediately pulled underwater; his body was later found with severe trauma to the chest. This was the first recorded fatal alligator attack in Texas since 1836.[33]

2000s

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Date Victim Location — Circumstances
November 13, 2007 Justo Padron, 36, male Florida — A man fleeing police by jumping into a retention pond adjacent to the Miccosukee Resort and Convention Center near Miami was killed by a 9-foot 3-inch (2.8 m) alligator.[34][35][36]
October 5, 2007 Gwen Williams, 83, female Georgia — A Canadian woman who had been house sitting for her daughter at The Landings on Skidaway Island, east of Savannah, was spotted floating in a lagoon 500 feet (200 m) behind her daughter's house. Autopsy results and a necropsy of the animal established that she had been attacked and killed by an 8-foot (2.5 m) alligator.[37][38][39]
May 14, 2006 Annemarie Campbell, 23, female Florida — Her body was pulled out of an alligator's mouth by friends and relatives in a springhead at Juniper Wayside Park in the Ocala National Forest near Lake George in Marion County. She had been attacked while snorkeling. Autopsy results confirmed that Campbell died from drowning and multiple blunt-force injuries including lacerations on her head, neck and upper torso, and multiple rib fractures. Officials later captured and killed an 12-foot 4-inch (3.5 m), 407 pound alligator that they were able to positively identify as the one that attacked Campbell due to scratches around its eyes that she inflicted while attempting to defend herself.[40][41][42][43]
May 14, 2006 Judy W. Cooper, 43, female Florida — Her body was found in a canal near Oldsmar in Pinellas County, 20 miles (30 km) north of St. Petersburg. She had been in the water for about three days. Preliminary autopsy results indicated a fatal alligator attack. Her arm and hand were later recovered from an 8.5-foot (2.6 m) alligator.[40][42][43]
May 10, 2006 Yovy Suarez Jiménez, 28, female Florida — Her dismembered body was found floating in a canal between Markham County Park and State Road 84 in Sunrise. She was killed while jogging the previous evening by a 9' 6" (3 m) alligator; her arms were found in the animal's digestive tract during necropsy. and the Broward County medical examiner concluded that she was attacked on land and dragged into the canal.[40][42][43][44]
July 15, 2005 Kevin Albert Murray, 41, male Florida — He was killed while swimming in the Apollo waterway in Port Charlotte by a 12' 2" (3.7 m) alligator.[44][45][46]
March 15, 2005 Don Owen, 56, male Florida — Fishermen discovered Owen's body about 12 miles (19 km) from his Lakeland home. He had been missing since March 9. Trappers later caught an 8' 9" (2.7 m) alligator and recovered some of Owen's body parts.[44]
September 26, 2004 Michelle Reeves, 20, female Florida — She was killed by a 7' 11" (2.4 m) alligator while swimming in a retention pond at Lee Memorial Health Park in Lee County.[44][46]
June 21, 2004 Janie Melsek, 54, female Florida — She was attacked by a 12' 3" (3.7 m) alligator while working on landscaping along Poinciana Circle Sanibel. She later died in surgery from an infection acquired from being in the water with open wounds.[44][46][47]
June 18, 2003 Brian Griffin, 12, male Florida — He was killed by a 10' 4" (3.1 m) alligator while swimming in the Dead River near a boat ramp; the river connects Lakes Harris and Eustis in Lake County.[44][46][48]
September 11, 2001 Robert Steele, 81, male Florida — He was attacked by an alligator while walking his dog on a trail between two wetland areas near the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel, Florida. Steele bled to death after his leg was bitten off below the knee.[44][46]
June 23, 2001 Alexandria Murphy, 2, female Florida — She wandered away from her fenced back yard and was killed 700 feet from her home on Lake Cannon in Winter Haven.[44][46]
May 4, 2001 Samuel Wetmore, 70, male Florida — He was killed in a pond near his residence in Venice, Sarasota County by an 8' 4" (2.5 m) alligator. Wetmore suffered from dementia and had wandered from his home.[44][46]

1990s

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Date Victim Location — Circumstances
March 21, 1997 Adam Binford, 3, male Florida — He was killed by an 11-foot (3.4 m) alligator after straying outside a roped-off area in Lake Ashby, Volusia County. Wildlife officials shot the alligator, which was still holding the lifeless body of the boy 20 hours later.[44][46]
October 3, 1993 Grace Eberhart, 70, female Florida — She was killed by one or more alligators at Lake Serenity, Sumter County. She died of a broken neck caused by an alligator bite to the throat and head.[44][46]
June 19, 1993 Bradley Weidenhamer, 10, male Florida — He was killed while wading in the Loxahatchee River at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County.[44][46]

1980s

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Date Victim Location — Circumstances
June 4, 1988 Erin Glover, 4, female Florida — She was killed while walking along the shore of Hidden Lake, Charlotte County.[44][46]
July 13, 1987 George Cummings III, 29, male Florida — He was killed while snorkeling in the Wakulla Springs State Park, Wakulla County by an 11-foot (3.4 m) alligator.[44][46]
May 4, 1985 Paul Mirabito, 27, male Florida — He was killed while diving and harassing small alligators in a canal near West Palm Beach.[49]
August 6, 1984 Robert Crespo, 11, male Florida — He was killed by a 12' 4" (3.8 m) alligator while swimming in a canal in St. Lucie County.[44][46]

1970s

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Date Victim Location — Circumstances
September 10, 1978 Phillip Rastrelli, 14, male Florida — He was killed while swimming across the Hidden River Canal off Bessie Creek in Martin County.[44][46]
September 28, 1977 George Leonard, 52, male Florida — He was killed while swimming in the Peace River Canal, Charlotte County.[44][46]
August 16, 1973 Sharon Holmes, 16, female Florida — She was killed while swimming at the Oscar Scherer State Park, Sarasota County, by an 11' 3" (3.4 m) alligator.[44][46]

1950s

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Date Victim Location — Circumstances
June 1957 Allen Rice, 9, male Florida — He had been missing several days from his Eau Gallie home, when his body was discovered by the Civil Air Patrol on the banks of Horse Creek, and parts of his body were found inside an alligator destroyed by authorities.[50][51][52]


Pre-1900

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Date Victim Location — Circumstances
August 1899 Delano Wood, male Florida — A 16-year-old was attacked by an alligator while swimming in a creek near Jacksonville. He managed to swim out of the creek but died on the shore.[53]
April or June 1836 Gray B. King, male Texas — A settler from Nashville traveling with his family and slaves was seized and pulled under by an alligator after jumping into the river to push free a ferry which had run aground. Sources describe the location as Double Bay (just below Anahuac), Buffalo Bayou, or the Trinity River.[54][55][56]
August 10, 1734 Jacques du Bois, male Louisiana — The blacksmith at Fort St. Jean Baptiste, near what is now Natchitoches was found dead on the banks of the Cane River, and a coroner's inquest concluded he was killed by an alligator.[57]
1685 Dumesnil, male Texas — A slave of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was killed while swimming across the Colorado River.[56]

See also

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Other species:

Notes

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  1. ^ Beastly Natures: Animals, Humans, and the Study of History. University of Virginia Press. 3 August 2010. ISBN 9780813929958.
  2. ^ Donlevy, Katherine (2023-09-24). "Florida woman found in alligator's jaws was arrested for trespassing two months ago". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  3. ^ "Medical Examiner: Largo area woman killed by large gator, not foul play".
  4. ^ Senior, Tynisa (2024-06-14). "Body camera footage released in vicious alligator attack that killed a woman". WSVN 7News. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  5. ^ Carballo, Rebecca (2023-07-04). "Alligator Kills 69-Year-Old Woman in South Carolina". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  6. ^ "69-year-old woman killed by alligator—which was "guarding" her body—while walking dog in Hilton Head". NY Post. July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  7. ^ "Woman killed by alligator while walking dog in South Florida". BNO News. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  8. ^ "11-Foot Alligator Attacks and Kills Florida Woman, 85, Who Was Walking Her Dog". Yahoo News. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  9. ^ "88-year-old woman was gardening when attacked, killed by alligator". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  10. ^ "Victim in possible gator attack at Sarasota County country club identified: Report". 17 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Florida woman dies after falling into pond and alligators grab her, authorities say". USA Today. July 17, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "75-year-old Myrtle Beach man died following alligator attack, coroner says". The Sun News. June 27, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  13. ^ Traub, Alex (June 2022). "Alligator Kills Florida Man Retrieving Frisbees in Lake, Officials Say". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Christal Hayes (August 30, 2021). "Man attacked by alligator in flooded Louisiana waters after Hurricane Ida". USA Today. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  15. ^ Marie Fazio (September 4, 2021). "Slidell man killed by alligator was grandfather, volunteer who 'just gave and gave'". nola.com. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  16. ^ "504-pound alligator suspected of killing Louisiana man in Ida floodwaters is captured; human remains found in its stomach". CBS News. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "Louisiana's only fatal alligator attack". St. Charles Herald Guide. April 8, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  18. ^ Alicia Victoria Lozano and The Associated Press (May 2, 2020). "Woman dies in alligator attack at South Carolina pond by water". NBC News. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  19. ^ USA Today (May 7, 2020). "Woman killed by alligator after doing client's nails during lockdown in South Carolina". Yahoo News. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  20. ^ Kats, Rachael (August 20, 2018). "Woman killed in apparent alligator attack would be first in South Carolina in decades". ABC News. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  21. ^ Caron, Christina (June 9, 2018). "Body of Woman Attacked by an Alligator Is Found in Florida". New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  22. ^ "Alligator involved in 90-year-old's death". Fox News. June 15, 2016. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  23. ^ "Florida police search for child who was attacked by alligator at Disney resort". Fox News. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  24. ^ "Child dragged into water by alligator near Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa". WESH. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  25. ^ "Dad says 2 gators involved in Disney attack that killed son". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. July 3, 2016. Archived from the original on July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  26. ^ McLaughlin, Eliott C. (2016-06-16). "Disney gator attack: 2-year-old Nebraska boy found dead". CNN.com. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  27. ^ "Police in Florida Identify Body Found in Alligator's Mouth - ABC News". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  28. ^ "Suspected Burglar Killed By Alligator While Hiding From Police In A Pond". Yahoo News. December 8, 2015.
  29. ^ "Police: Burglary suspect hiding in lake eaten by alligator". CBS News. December 8, 2015.
  30. ^ Balona, Patricio (October 20, 2015). "Man dies during swim in Blue Springs' 12-foot gator shot". Daytona Beach News-Journal.
  31. ^ "Gator may have killed swimmer at Blue Spring State Park". Central Florida News 13. October 20, 2015.
  32. ^ "Medical examiner confirms alligator killed Blue Spring swimmer". Daytona Beach News-Journal.
  33. ^ "Man mocks alligators, jumps in water and is killed in Texas". CNN. 4 July 2015.
  34. ^ Gla,sser, Eric (November 13, 2007). "South Florida burglary suspect killed in gator attack".{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link‍]
  35. ^ "'Aggressive' Gator Kills Burglary Suspect". Associated Press. November 13, 2007. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  36. ^ "Alligator's jaws catch suspect in Florida lake". The Seattle Times. November 15, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  37. ^ Gay, Daryl (October 23, 2007). "Woman Killed By Alligator in Georgia's First Recorded Fatal Attack". Georgia Outdoor News. Archived from the original on 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  38. ^ Bynum, Russ (October 9, 2007). "Autopsy shows elderly woman killed by alligator attack". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  39. ^ "Canadian woman killed in Georgia alligator attack". CanWest News Service. October 10, 2007. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  40. ^ a b c Lemonick, Michael D. (May 21, 2006). "Death by Alligator". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008.
  41. ^ "Fla. Officials Capture Killer Alligator". May 19, 2006. Archived from the original on May 6, 2008.
  42. ^ a b c "Friends Find 23-Year-Old Woman Dead in Alligator's Jaws". May 15, 2006. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008.
  43. ^ a b c "Florida Marks 3rd Fatal Alligator Attack In A Week". May 14, 2006.[dead link‍]
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Southeastern Outdoors, Fatal Alligator Attacks". Retrieved 2006-03-31.
  45. ^ Bakalar, Nicholas (September 12, 2005). "Human-Alligator Encounters Rising in Southeast U.S." National Geographic News. Archived from the original on September 14, 2005. Retrieved 2006-03-31.
  46. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Alligator attacks: Fact sheet" (PDF). Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. pp. 4–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2011. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  47. ^ "Woman Attacked by 12-Foot Alligator Dies In Surgery". Archived from the original on 2006-04-20. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
  48. ^ "Boy Killed in Florida Gator Attack". CBS News. June 19, 2003. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
  49. ^ "Historic Alligator Bites on Humans in Florida" (PDF). Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  50. ^ "War on the Gator". Sports Illustrated. 29 July 1957. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  51. ^ Fontenay, Blake (June 19, 1993). "Deaths from Gator Attacks Rare in Florida". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  52. ^ "Boy is Killed by Alligator". Daily Banner (Greencastle, Indiana). DePauw University Libraries. 2 July 1957. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  53. ^ "Boy Killed by an Alligator". Muscatine Semi-Weekly News Tribune. 18 August 1899. p. 8. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  54. ^ Phillip Thomas Tucker (7 February 2014). Emily D. West and the "Yellow Rose of Texas" Myth. McFarland. pp. 85–. ISBN 978-1-4766-1328-4. OCLC 849204943.
  55. ^ Louise Hayes (20 June 2016). Alligators of Texas. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 172–. ISBN 978-1-62349-388-2. OCLC 1058941840.
  56. ^ a b Michael Bright (15 April 2002). Man-Eaters. Macmillan. pp. 170–. ISBN 978-0-312-98156-3. OCLC 1102125200.
  57. ^ Terry L. Jones (16 March 2020). Louisiana Pastimes: Ancient Fishing Methods, the Hippo Bill, a Squirrel Stampede and Other Tales. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-1-4396-6934-1. OCLC 1124281287.

References

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