An 80-year-old Florida woman is dead after she was “grabbed” by two alligators when she fell into a pond near her house on Friday, officials claim.
The woman, who was later identified by police as Rose Wiegand, fell into a pond at the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club in Englewood, Fla., around 7:30 p.m., the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office claimed Wiegand “struggled to stay afloat” when she fell into the water.
Authorities said Wiegand was “ultimately grabbed” by two alligators that were seen near the victim in the pond.
Wiegand was declared dead at the scene Friday.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office later revealed that Wiegand had died as a “result of the alligator attack,” and cited the medical examiner’s report.
According to NBC, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were called to the scene of the attack where they trapped and retrieved two alligators from the water.
It is unclear if these two alligators were the two who attacked Wiegand. One measured approximately 2.4 metres in length, and the other about 2.1 metres.
The New York Times reported both alligators were euthanized.
Boca Royale Golf and Country Club General Manager Doug Foote called Wiegand’s death a “tragic situation” in a statement.
“Our hearts go out to the family members and friends affected by this loss, and we offer our deepest condolences,” he said. “There is an ongoing investigation into details of what happened, and we are working with authorities to provide any information we have.”
According to the New York Times, this is the third alligator death in the U.S. since May. Normally, alligator attacks are quite rare, but a man who had been retrieving Frisbees from a lake in Largo, Fla., was killed in May, and another died in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in June, after being dragged into a retention pond by an alligator.