Horrible incident: 3-meter crocodile crushed old woman

It has been learned that an unidentified woman, who was found at the edge of a lagoon near the Spanish Wells Golf Club on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, was killed by a wild alligator.

The woman was walking her dog when the alligator attacked and killed her, the second deadliest alligator attack in less than a year in the county.

“Rescue efforts were underway and an alligator appeared and disrupted emergency efforts by restraining the female,” the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said.

After the incident, the crocodile was safely removed from the area and euthanized. The woman’s body has been exhumed and an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

This was the second deadly alligator attack in less than a year in the same county after an 88-year-old woman was killed in August 2022.

Police, along with the Hilton Head Island Fire Department, Beaufort County Judge’s Office and Spanish Wells security personnel, were called around 9:30 a.m. to report a possible alligator attack near a lagoon that borders the golf course.

Despite rescue efforts to save the woman, the alligator reappeared and turned the woman off, disrupting the emergency response. The woman was found unconscious and presumed dead.

It is not yet clear where the woman was taken into the water. The condition of the woman’s dog is also unknown at this time.

Alligator encounters and attacks have increased in recent years in the United States, particularly in Florida and South Carolina.

South Carolina experienced several alligator attacks through 2022, when the state reported five alligator attacks during the year, two of which were fatal.

Alligator attacks in Florida increased from about six a year between 1971 and 1986, to about 10 a year between 1987 and 2017, according to Fish and Wildlife data.