Alligator kills woman, 69, in South Carolina and the beast is found guarding her mutilated body
A 9-foot alligator killed a 69-year-old woman in South Carolina Tuesday morning.
The woman was walking her dog when the gator attacked and killed her, the second deadly gator attack in the county in less than a year.
The beast was found guarding the victim’s mutilated body on the edge of a lagoon near her home and the Spanish Wells Golf Club on Hilton Head Island.
“Rescue efforts were made and an alligator appeared and guarded the woman, interrupting emergency efforts,” the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said.
The gator was safely removed from the area and euthanized. The woman’s body has been recovered and an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.
An alligator killed a 69-year-old woman in South Carolina on Tuesday. The woman was walking her dog when the gator attacked and killed her, marking the second deadly gator attack in the county in less than a year
Police, along with Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue, Beaufort County Coroner’s Office and Spanish Wells security personnel, were called to a report of a possible alligator attack near a lagoon adjacent to the golf course.
Authorities responded to the attack around 9:30 a.m. that occurred near the Hispanic Wells community on Hilton Head Island.
Located in an upscale neighborhood in Beaufort County, Hilton Head Island is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in South Carolina.
Despite rescue efforts in an attempt to save the woman, the alligator reappeared and guarded the woman, disrupting the emergency response.
Gloria Serge, 85, was killed in February while trying to save her beloved dog, Trooper, from a ten-foot gator. Video released later shows Serge trying to get her dog away from the gator’s jaws, but the gator grabbed her instead and could be seen dragging her into the lake
Serge’s pup survived the attack, but the gator was later captured and euthanized after killing the older woman near a pond in Florida last February
Serge (pictured) was a grandmother living in the Spanish Lakes Fairways retirement community in Fort Pierce, Florida, when she was killed by an alligator in February
The woman was found unconscious and presumed dead.
The woman’s body was recovered and the gator was safely removed from the area.
The Beaufort County coroner’s office is expected to perform an autopsy on the woman.
It is not clear at this time where the woman was placed in the water. The condition of the woman’s dog is also unknown at this time.
Alligator attacks in South Carolina have increased in recent years.
The state went years without many gator attacks, and in 2022 South Carolina had five reported gator attacks, two of which were fatal.
In February of this year, a An 85-year-old woman was mauled by a ten-foot-long alligator while trying to rescue her dog from the reptile’s clutches at a Florida pond.
Gloria Serge, 85, was killed trying to save her beloved dog, Trooper, from the reptile’s clutches.
Video shows the moment the gator jumps out of the water and lunges at the woman’s dog – aptly named Trooper.
The attack occurred in front of a neighbor who frantically called 911 while trying to help the woman.
Serge’s pup survived the attack, but the gator was later captured and euthanized.
The retiree was walking her dog by the pond at the Spanish Lakes Fairways community in Fort Pierce when the 700-pound alligator launched itself out of the water and grabbed the dog.
The woman had been trying to get the dog away from the gator’s jaws when the reptile attacked her and dragged her into the pond, an eyewitness told CBS News.
And last week, a 13-year-old survived an alligator attack in which the reptile only let go of its right leg after the teen punched it in Florida.
Gabriel Klimis played with friends at Howell Creek near Orlando.
He jumped off a bridge with a rope to try to cross the creek when he felt something.
Last week, an alligator lunged at a fisherman at a pond in South Carolina before running to safety. Surveillance video shows the fisherman standing on the grassy edge of a pond and patiently waiting to catch a fish when an alligator suddenly appears
Last week, a 13-year-old survived an attack by an alligator in which the reptile only released his right leg after the teen punched him in Florida. The teen was taken to a local hospital and received stitches to his leg and is expected to make a full recovery
Gabriel Klimis (pictured right), 13, was playing with friends at Howell Creek near Orlando last week when he was attacked by the alligator, pictured here
The gator was hanging by his right leg, and Klimis fully understood the danger he was in.
Also last week, an alligator lunged at a fisherman at a pond in South Carolina before running to safety.
The moment he ran from the beast was caught on camera.
The video was taken by a tourist visiting the shipyard on Hilton Head Island with his family last week.
Micah Kimberlin said he was riding a bicycle with his wife and three children when he saw the gator.
Surveillance video shows the fisherman standing on the grassy edge of the pond with his fishing rod in hand when the gator suddenly emerges and lunges at him.
The man was seen running away from the lake in the other direction while a nearby woman holding a camera also darted away from the rushed scene. The man managed to escape without injury.