A woman wasattacked and killed by an alligatorin Hilton Head, South Carolina, while she was walking her dog on Tuesday morning, July 4. The woman, 69, was killed near a lagoon bordering a golf course in the Spanish Wells community she lived in. The incident took place at 9:30 am.
The victim, identified by the Beaufort County coroner as Holly Jenkins, was found unresponsive near the lagoon. First responders were unable to immediately reach her as the beast was “guarding” her body. An autopsy is scheduled to be conducted on Wednesday, July 5. The 10-foot, male alligator was eventually removed, and the woman's body recovered.
“At approximately 9:28 this morning, Sheriff's Office deputies, Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue, Beaufort County Coroner's Office and Spanish Wells security personnel responded to Brams Point Road in the Spanish Wells communityfor a report of a possible alligator attack near a lagoon bordering the golf course,” Beaufort County Sheriff's Office updated on social media. “A 69-year-old resident of the community was found at the edge of the lagoon and appeared to be unresponsive. Rescue efforts were made and an alligator appeared and was guarding the woman, interrupting emergency efforts. The gator was safely removed from the area and the woman’s body was recovered.”
“The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office will facilitate an autopsy on the woman. Deputies learned that the woman was walking her dog earlier this morning when the attack occurred. It is not clear at this point where she was taken into the water. This is the second fatal alligator attack in Beaufort County in less than a year. On August 15, 2022, an 88-year-old Sun City woman was attacked by an alligator at a lagoon near her home,” they added.
{{/usCountry}}“The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office will facilitate an autopsy on the woman. Deputies learned that the woman was walking her dog earlier this morning when the attack occurred. It is not clear at this point where she was taken into the water. This is the second fatal alligator attack in Beaufort County in less than a year. On August 15, 2022, an 88-year-old Sun City woman was attacked by an alligator at a lagoon near her home,” they added.
{{/usCountry}}In a similar incident in August 2022, an alligator killed an 88-year-old woman after sheslipped into a pond. She accidentally fell into the pond while gardening in a senior community in nearby Bluffton. The gator was seen similarly “guarding” the woman’s body.
In May 2022, a 58-year-old woman was mauled by an alligator in a gated community. She was grabbed and pulled into the water by the animal after she tried to touch it.