OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – A woman canoeing with her husband Tuesday afternoon at Lake Kissimmee State Park was attacked and killed by an alligator, according to officials, News4JAX’s sister station WKMG in Orlando reported.
The deadly attack happened near the mouth of Tiger Creek into Lake Kissimmee in Polk County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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In a news release, Polk County sheriff’s deputies said they received a call just after 4 p.m. about the gator attack, WKMG reported.
In radio transmissions from the sheriff’s office, an official said, “Gator grabbed her out of the canoe. (Her husband) tried to fight the gator off. We’re at the last place he saw her. He left the paddle here where he last saw her.”
The body of the woman, whose name has not been released, was later recovered.
“The helicopter spotted the victim floating in the water and FWC officers recovered her from the water, where she was pronounced deceased,” an official said.
It’s not known if the man and woman were in the same canoe when she was pulled into the water by the gator.
Florida wildlife officials said a nuisance alligator trapper has been sent to the area.
WKMG reported that the attack occurred at the same location where a woman was previously attacked by an alligator while paddling in Tiger Creek Canal back in March. She was airlifted to the hospital following the incident.
While serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, the FWC said that residents with concerns about an alligator should call the agency’s toll free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at (866) 392-4286.
Authorities initially said the victim was in a kayak, not a canoe.
No additional information has been released.