Woman Missing After Walking Dogs Near Gator

Trappers have spotted a 12-foot alligator in a nearby pond
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 8, 2018 4:42 PM CDT
Updated Jun 8, 2018 5:00 PM CDT
Woman Missing After Walking Dogs Near Gator
Police block the entrance to Silver Lakes Rotary Nature Park, Friday, June 8, 2018, in Davie, Fla.   (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Authorities worked Friday to capture an alligator in a Florida pond after a witness' report led police to believe the animal may have dragged a woman into the water, reports the AP. The witness told authorities he saw the woman walking two dogs and then noticed the dogs barking near the water, but he did not see the woman again, said Davie Police Detective Viviana Gallinal. "He could not find the woman that was walking the dogs, so he called for police assistance and we're still looking for her," Gallinal said. Trappers have spotted a 12-foot alligator in the pond in Silver Lakes Rotary Nature Park, she said. Meanwhile, "her dogs won't leave the pond," Davie Police Maj. Dale Engle said. "One of her dogs got bit by the gator." Jim Borelli, a friend of the woman presumed missing, said she and her husband have walked their dogs in the park previously.

"I'm praying that nothing happened to her," Borelli said. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Rob Klepper said the report of the attack was still unconfirmed, but law enforcement officers with the agency were heading to the scene. The park is near the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, a major Miami-area tourist and entertainment attraction. Authorities closed the park Friday, but passers-by were not surprised to hear about an alligator lurking in the water. "Any body of water in Florida, you've got to know at some point or another there's an alligator," said Heather Porrata, who lives nearby. Fatal attacks on humans remain rare, however. According to the wildlife commission, the likelihood of a Florida resident being seriously injured during an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is roughly only one in 3.2 million.

(More alligator stories.)

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