- Houston police have not yet released the victim’s identity or cause of death
The body of a missing Texas woman was found in the jaws of an alligator while it was still eating her remains.
The woman, believed to be in her 60s, was found dead along the shores of Horsepen Bayou in Clear Lake around 8:40 a.m. Tuesday, less than 12 hours after she went missing.
Houston police officers had been searching the area for the missing woman when they discovered an alligator chewing on her body.
An officer shot the animal to prevent it from causing further damage to the department’s remains homicide department confirmed. A dive team then recovered the body and alligator from the bayou.
Police have not yet released the victim’s identity and say her cause of death will be determined after an autopsy.
The woman, believed to be in her 60s, was found dead along the shores of Horsepen Bayou in Clear Lake around 8:40 a.m. Tuesday, less than 12 hours after she was last seen. Houston police officers had been searching the area for the missing woman when they discovered an alligator chewing on her body (stock photo)
The victim’s husband reported her missing early Tuesday morning after last seeing her when she left for a walk around 7:30 PM on Monday. She never returned home.
Her body was found in the alligator’s jaws near Coastal Oak Drive, not far from her home on Brook Forest Drive. KHOU-11 reported.
It is unclear at this time if the victim was killed by the alligator.
Photos taken by a Clear Lake resident show at least a dozen response officers were called to the bayou. Witnesses claim police were on the scene for hours.
Texas game rangers assisted in recovery efforts, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Law Enforcement Division.
Angela Derous, who was fishing in the bayou Tuesday evening, told the story ABC-13 that alligators live in water.
‘That’s where they live. We see 8 foot, 10 foot babies. I know which banks to stay near and where they like to bask in the sun,” she explained. ‘This is the first time I’ve heard of this happening here. It’s a bit scary.’
Maggie Berger, spokesperson for the Law Enforcement Division at Texas Parks and Wildlife, told the news station that the Houston Police Department is investigating the incident and “will be the lead agency moving forward.”
She added: ‘Our thoughts are with the woman’s family during this time.’
Officials say fatal alligator attacks are very rare in Texas, with the last recorded in 2015 when a 28-year-old man was killed while swimming in Adams Bayou in Orange.
That incident was reportedly the first fatal alligator attack in more than 90 years.
