While walking her dog near a golf course on Hilton Head Island, a 69-year-old South Carolina woman was killed in what police believe to be an alligator attack on Tuesday.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office shared the news of the attack, noting that police were responding to the report of a possible alligator attack when they found the woman’s body at around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
According to the sheriff’s office, the victim’s body was at the edge of a lagoon bordering a golf course.
However, despite finding the victim, they were not able to get to it because of the animal.
“Rescue efforts were made and an alligator appeared and was guarding the woman, interrupting emergency efforts,” the release added.
First responders were eventually able to recover the body of the victim after the alligator was safely removed from the area, the sheriff’s office said.
The victim has not yet been identified, but police did note that she was a resident of the neighborhood where the attack took place.
An autopsy is set to be conducted by the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office, the release shared.
The sheriff’s office shared that this was the second fatal alligator attack in Beaufort County in the last year. The first came on Aug. 15, 2022, when an 88-year-old woman was attacked at a lagoon near her home.
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