tsubaki
10-09-2007, 08:11 PM
Police work to determine if elderly woman was killed by alligator or if she died prior to an attack .
An alligator might have attacked and killed an elderly woman who was housesitting a Landings home during the weekend.
Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police are investigating to determine if the 85-year-old woman died of natural causes and then was mauled by the alligator, or if the attack was the cause of death, said Chief Michael Berkow. An autopsy is scheduled for today.
Berkow said youngsters in the neighborhood reported hearing a woman call for help Friday evening, but when they investigated further, they couldn't find the source.
Sgt. Mike Wilson, police spokesman, said there was nothing otherwise suspicious about the death. Investigators are working to determine if the woman had any pre-existing health conditions, he said.
Golf course employees spotted the woman's body Friday evening but thought it was a fish, according to a preliminary report made available Sunday.
A couple riding a golf cart spotted the body Saturday in a pond near the intersection of Wiley Bottom Road and Henry Clay Court.
The woman, a Canadian whose name was not released, was watching a relative's home about 300 yards from the lagoon at the time of her death, Wilson said.
When recovered, the body was found to be missing a left arm, right hand and right foot, the report stated.
"I grew up at the Landings and I have lived here all my life, so we just sort of know there are alligators out here," said Mary Moore, who spotted the body with her husband, Gus. "I'm not really scared of them, but I wouldn't go near them."
Berkow said metro police have asked the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to assist in the investigation.
From 1980 to 2001, there were only eight reported cases of alligator attacks on humans in Georgia. There were no fatalities, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
An alligator might have attacked and killed an elderly woman who was housesitting a Landings home during the weekend.
Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police are investigating to determine if the 85-year-old woman died of natural causes and then was mauled by the alligator, or if the attack was the cause of death, said Chief Michael Berkow. An autopsy is scheduled for today.
Berkow said youngsters in the neighborhood reported hearing a woman call for help Friday evening, but when they investigated further, they couldn't find the source.
Sgt. Mike Wilson, police spokesman, said there was nothing otherwise suspicious about the death. Investigators are working to determine if the woman had any pre-existing health conditions, he said.
Golf course employees spotted the woman's body Friday evening but thought it was a fish, according to a preliminary report made available Sunday.
A couple riding a golf cart spotted the body Saturday in a pond near the intersection of Wiley Bottom Road and Henry Clay Court.
The woman, a Canadian whose name was not released, was watching a relative's home about 300 yards from the lagoon at the time of her death, Wilson said.
When recovered, the body was found to be missing a left arm, right hand and right foot, the report stated.
"I grew up at the Landings and I have lived here all my life, so we just sort of know there are alligators out here," said Mary Moore, who spotted the body with her husband, Gus. "I'm not really scared of them, but I wouldn't go near them."
Berkow said metro police have asked the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to assist in the investigation.
From 1980 to 2001, there were only eight reported cases of alligator attacks on humans in Georgia. There were no fatalities, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.