Body found in alligator-infested Florida pond after teen disappears under water screaming 'it bit me!'
Rescue crews in Florida found a body in an alligator-infested pond after a report that a teenager went missing.
(FOX 35 Orlando)
A body was found Thursday in an alligator-infested pond in Florida where a teenager was seen a day earlier flailing his arms and screaming "it bit me!" before disappearing under the water, officials said.
Officials weren't able to immediately identify the remains.
Jeff Williamson, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed to Fox News the body was located at a pond located in east Orange County soon after rescue crews resumed their search Thursday morning.
He said it is unclear if the person whose body was recovered died from drowning or from a suspected alligator attack and that the medical examiner’s office would make the determination within the next few days.
Rescue crews began searching the pond after deputies received a call around noon Wednesday from a man who claimed to have seen a teenage boy struggling to stay afloat while yelling “it bit me” multiple times.
Eric Wolfe, who called 911, said he ran inside to grab binoculars to see what was going on before calling authorities.
“[I] had eyes on him the whole time and relayed his position to dispatch, and he went underwater and didn’t come up,” he told News 6.
Williamson said the pond is known to be home to several alligators and crews spotted at least one during their search on Wednesday.
“There are many alligators in there. There are probably four alligators that I’ve seen. There's a big bull gator, probably about seven to nine feet,” Wolfe said, according to WFTV.
“No Trespassing” signs are posted around the fence pond; however residents told WFTV that people still swim and fish there despite the alligators.
“I used to fish in there. I stopped doing that about a year ago, once that gator got way too big and aggressive,” said resident Luis Cadiz.
Authorities told local media that the alligator was six feet long – too small to inflict serious damage on a human, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Williamson could not provide any more details regarding the search or the condition of the body.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Orange County Fire Rescue and the Orange County Sheriff's Office led the search.
Williamson said no teens in the area have been reported missing.