South Carolina Woman Killed In Apparent Alligator Attack

A woman in South Carolina was killed in an alligator attack this week while walking her dog near a golf course, according to local officials.

The woman was killed in the Spanish Wells neighborhood of Hilton Head Island early Tuesday morning.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Spanish Wells security personnel responded to a call about a possible alligator attack near a lagoon bordering the golf course.

The “69-year-old resident of the community was found at the edge of the lagoon and appeared to be unresponsive,” the statement 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.”

The woman was reportedly walking her dog when the attack happened, officials said. They said that this was the second fatal attack that they’ve had to deal with this year.

Last August, an 88-year-old South Carolina woman fell into a pond while gardening and was killed by a nearly 10-foot alligator that then appeared to stand guard by its prey, authorities said.

The body of Nancy Becker was recovered from the pond just after noon Monday in a pond inside Sun City Hilton Head, a gated adult community in the Palmetto State. Her death is the fourth alligator attack death of the year in the U.S. and the second in South Carolina.

“The alligator was basically holding her hostage, I guess — I don’t know what the appropriate term would be,” Maj. Angela Viens, a Beaufort County sheriff’s spokeswoman, said in an interview, reported NBC News. “It was guarding her and did not want people close by.”

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Fully-grown American alligators can be up to 15 feet long and weigh up to 1,000 pounds.

American Alligators, while dangerous, pose less risk to humans than large crocodiles like the Nile Crocodile in Africa and the Saltwater Crocodile found in Asia and Australia.

Saltwater crocodiles are the largest crocodile species in the world, with full-grown males able to grow up to 28 feet and weigh roughly 2,500 pounds. They are responsible for killing 1,000 people per year.

Greg Wilson contributed to this report.