A 69-year-old woman in Hilton Head, South Carolina, died July 4 after being attacked by an alligator near a lagoon close to a golf course, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Deputies, fire officials, the county coroner’s office and neighborhood security all responded to a call about a potential alligator attack around 9:30 a.m.
“A 69-year-old resident of the community was found at the edge of the lagoon and appeared to be unresponsive,” the press release said.
“Rescue efforts were made and an alligator appeared and was guarding the woman, interrupting emergency efforts. The gator was safely removed from the area and the woman’s body was recovered.”
Deputies say the woman had been walking her dog when the attack took place. It isn’t known where in the water she was dragged.
This incident marks the second fatal alligator attack in the county in under a year. An 88-year-old woman was killed by an alligator at a lagoon by her home in August 2022, according to the release.
Last month, a 13-year-old Florida boy swimming in a creek also fought off an alligator and called 911 after the animal attacked him. The creature grabbed onto his right leg and attempted to pull him under the water.
“The gator kind of just grabbed me from there, and then once he wrapped his jaws on me, I knew that there was no getting out,” Gabriel Klimis told NBC News correspondent Sam Brock on TODAY June 26.
Klimis then punched the alligator, causing it to loosen its grip and allowing Klimis to swim to shore and go to a nearby house where he called 911.