Woman, 88, killed in alligator attack while gardening

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - An 88-year-old woman from South Carolina is dead after she was attacked by an alligator, according to sheriff’s officials.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and other emergency services responded to the scene of an alligator attack in Sun City on Monday. They say they received a call around 11:15 a.m. reporting a large alligator near the edge of a pond in the community guarding what was believed to be a person.

Emergency services arrived and located the alligator, as well as a deceased person, WTOC reports.

According to the sheriff’s office and the South Carolina Department of Resources, the victim has been identified as 88-year-old Nancy A. Becker, of Sun City. Officials believe she was gardening near the pond and slipped into the water.

The alligator has since been removed from the pond and euthanized, according to officials.

Word of the attack spread quickly throughout the community, as some saw the large police, EMS and fire truck presence at the scene. Others said they got alerts from the sheriff’s office that there had been a fatal attack.

A sheriff’s deputy said there are around 200 lagoons and ponds in the Sun City community and that the assumption should be there are alligators in most of those bodies of water.

Several residents said they’re very aware of that constant danger and always have an eye out for alligators.

“Oh, they’re very fast, anywhere from 15 to 30 miles an hour on land, and they can climb,” Marvin Margolies said.

“You’ve got to be real careful where you walk your dogs. You don’t leave your dogs out at night,” Alan Rosenthal said.

The Department of Resources and the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office is investigating the incident.

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