Florida officials confirmed on Saturday divers had found the body of a woman who was killed by an alligator while walking her dogs near a lake in south Florida. The 12ft 6in alligator involved was captured and killed.

Miami woman bitten and likely killed by alligator, officials say Read more

In a statement, the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission said: “The victim of this tragic incident has been identified as Shizuka Matsuki, 47 years of age, of Plantation, Florida. This tragedy is heartbreaking for everyone involved, and our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of the victim at this time.”

A necropsy on the alligator that was captured in Silver Lakes Rotary nature park in Davie on Friday found a human arm in its stomach, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Search teams were then able to enter the lake and locate Matsuki’s body.

A Davie police detective, Vivian Gallinal, told reporters a witness had seen Matsuki walking her dogs near the water on Friday morning. An alert was sounded after the witness called police to say they had seen Matsuki walking the dogs and then saw the dogs alone and barking.

One of the dogs, a pitbull, was wounded in the attack. The dogs are now in the possession of the Broward county animal care and adoption.

Residents told the Sun-Sentinel they had complained about alligators at the park. Davie’s assistant director of parks, Jeff Polhman, told the newspaper trappers had been hired in the past 18 to 24 months to capture the alligator, without success. Some residents said they had lost pets that wandered too close to the lake.



