Authorities have confirmed that a woman has died in South Carolina after she was attacked by an alligator.
The 69-year-old woman was walking her dog when she was attacked by an alligator while crossing a lagoon near a golf course on Hilton Head Island.
In a statement from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were informed just before 9:30 am of a possible alligator attack in the Spanish Wells community.
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“A 69-year-old resident of the community was found at the edge of the lagoon and appeared to be unresponsive," it read.
While rescue attempts were made, efforts by first responders were made difficult as the alligator was guarding the woman’s body.
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“The gator was safely removed from the area and the woman’s body was recovered,” said the sheriff’s office.
According to Major Angela Viens, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, the woman’s dog was found safe.
An autopsy will now be performed on the woman, who is yet to be named, by the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources confirmed in a tweet that the alligator involved in the incident had been removed from the lagoon and euthanized.
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“Our biologists and officers are responding to an alligator incident,” said the department early Tuesday morning.
The alligator was a 9-foot 9-inch male.
Alligators are most aggressive during mating season, which occurs from April to June.
This is the second fatal alligator attack in less than a year for Beaufort County.
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An 88-year-old woman from Sun City was fatally attacked by an alligator in August last year in a lagoon near her home.
A report from South Carolina’s Post and Courier found that from 2000 to 2022, there were 23 alligator attacks in the state, 14 of those attacks were in Beaufort County.
Out of the 23 alligator attacks, five of them were fatal.
There are approximately 100,000 alligators across the South Carolina Lowcountry, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
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“If you encounter an alligator on land, simply back away and give it plenty of space to leave on its own,” advises the department," the department advises.
“Alligators will surge out of the water to catch prey along the bank, so always be aware of your surroundings and stay a safe distance from the edge of the water.”
