Woman killed in alligator attack at Florida golf course: Sheriff

(ENGLEWOOD, Fla.) — An elderly woman was killed after she fell into a pond along a Florida golf course and was attacked by two alligators, authorities said.

The incident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. Friday at the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club in Englewood, about 30 miles south of Sarasota.

The woman fell into a pond along the course near her home “and struggled to stay afloat,” the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

“While in the water two alligators were observed near the victim and ultimately grabbed her while in the water,” the sheriff’s office said.

The woman, who has not been identified by authorities, was pronounced dead at the scene.

An alligator trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded and removed the alligators as part of the investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said an 8′ 10” alligator and a 7′ 7″ alligator seen near the pond were removed. The agency said it is unknown at this time if the alligators were involved in the incident, but that it doesn’t plan to remove any additional alligators from the area at this time.

“The FWC and Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office will be working jointly on this investigation until cause of death is determined by the Sarasota County Medical Examiner’s Office,” the agency said in a statement.

No further information was released by the sheriff’s office amid the investigation.

The Boca Royale Golf and Country Club told ABC News it doesn’t have a comment at this time.

The country club is located in a 1,000-acre private gated community that features lakes and nature preserves, according to its website.

Fatal alligator bites are rare. From 1948 to 2021, Florida reported 442 unprovoked bite incidents from alligators, 26 of which resulted in fatalities, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In the last 10 years, the state has averaged eight unprovoked bites a year that require medical treatment, the agency said.

The likelihood of someone being seriously injured during an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is roughly one in 3.1 million, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A man believed to be looking for Frisbees in a lake was killed in a suspected alligator attack in late May in Largo, a city in the Tampa Bay area, police said.

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