A man who jumped into a lake to flee police was killed by an alligator more than 9-feet long, officials said Tuesday.
The man, whose name has not been released, was allegedly burglarizing a vehicle in the parking lot of the Miccosukee Resort and Convention Center on Thursday. He ran when police arrived at the scene, said Dexter Lehtinen, one of the tribe's police legal advisors.
Tribal police divers searched for the man that night, then again Friday morning and afternoon. During the third dive, the body was recovered. It bore alligator teeth marks on the upper torso.
The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department said the cause of death was an alligator attack.
An accomplice in the alleged burglary has been arrested. The Miccosukee tribe, which is not obligated to follow Florida's open records laws, declined to release his name. Without a name, the Miami-Dade state attorney's office was unable to comment on whether the man has been charged.
The alligator believed to be responsible for the death has been killed. A coroner was scheduled to examine the 9-foot-3 reptile Wednesday for human hair or skin, said Brian Wood, owner of All American Gator Products, which is storing the gator in a cooler for now. It will then be incinerated or buried, he said.
Why kill the gator? Is this supposed to deter other gators form doing what comes naturally to gators? I always get a laugh when a large predator takes a human out. Give us some of what we have been giving to animals. In this case it did society a favor and this is how we show our appreciation? Lets all say a prayer for the poor gator. As for gator snack boy, rest in pieces.
There can be no worse way to die for me than at the hands so some piece of crap criminal that is in serious need of extermination. Regardless of how messed up the laws are here I will take the necessary steps to make sure that doesn't happen.