Port Charlotte, FL - 16 July 2005: Swimmer Killed By 12 Foot Gator

A lawn worker who jumped into a canal near the Myakka River to cool off was killed by a 12-foot, 1,200-pound alligator Friday night.

Dee Hawkins, a spokeswoman for Charlotte County Fire Rescue/EMS, said neighbors had seen the alligator in the canal many times but did not think it was dangerous.

Officers were in a boat searching the canal when the alligator resurfaced with the man still clamped in its jaws. Full details of this attack can be read on the Tallahasee Democrat website.

Thanks to AAF Correspondent SANDITAMPABAY for this story.