Two alligators attacked and killed an elderly woman in a pond near her home inside a Florida country club on Friday.
Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies found a woman’s body in a pond at the Boca Royale Golf & Country Club in Englewood, Florida.
“While in the water, two alligators were observed near the victim and ultimately grabbed her while in the water,” authorities said according to WPTV.
Neighbors of the woman identified her as Rose Marie Wiegand to NBC News.
Authorities said Wiegand fell into the pond when the alligators attacked her as she struggled to stay afloat.
Kurt Kauffman, a resident of Boca Royale, said he lived a couple of doors away from Wiegand.
“She would bring our trash cans up if we’re out of town,” Kaufman said. “Very kind — she introduced herself when we moved in.”
Kauffman said the country club and other communities have a lot of alligators around the golfing greens and in the pond.
Another neighbor described the incident as shocking.
“I mean, it’s pretty terrible,” the anonymous neighbor said. “We see alligators from time to time but never thought that anything like that could happen.”
He added that residents should stay away from the lagoons if they see an alligator.
Authorities reported they found the alligators dragging the Wiegand’s body in a small pond on Friday around 8:00 p.m.
WPTV reports officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission removed both of the alligators from the pond. Officials said one alligator stretched nearly nine feet long and the other measured just over seven and a half feet long.
The commission said about 1.3 million alligators populate the state’s 67 counties. Since Florida’s human population continues to grow, the group warns more frequent alligator-human interactions have increased.
“Although many Floridians have learned to coexist with alligators, the potential for conflict always exists,” the commission’s website reads.
The commission reports that 442 unprovoked bite incidents have occurred in Florida since 1948, with 26 resulting in death.
Florida has averaged about eight unprovoked bites yearly for the last decade.
“The likelihood of a Florida resident being seriously injured during an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is roughly only one in 3.1 million,” according to the commission.
A local medical examiner will determine Wiegand’s exact cause of death.