Person killed in alligator attack near Myrtle Beach, police say

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A person has died following an alligator attack near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to local law enforcement.

Late Friday morning, Horry County crews were called to a neighborhood just outside Myrtle Beach for a water rescue, officials say.

Crews were told an alligator “had taken hold” of a person and went into a retention pond. The unidentified person had been near the retention pond when the attack happened.

Authorities were able to remove the person’s body from the pond. The person’s identity has not been released, and a cause of death has not been announced.

After the alligator was removed from the water, a biologist with the South Carolina Department of National Resources and its contracted alligator removal service decided to humanely euthanize it on site.

Earlier this month, Florida authorities say an alligator – or alligators – fatally attacked a man that police believe had entered a lake while searching for frisbees. The man likely suffered a gruesome death, authorities tell NewsNation affiliate WFLA, adding “he was ​observed to be missing three limbs.”

Two alligators were removed from the area, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife officials, but no evidence was found during the field necropsy. They noted it’s likely the alligator or alligators involved in the attack are still in the park’s lake.