Investigators have released the scary 911 calls after an alligator attacked a woman and bit off a portion of her arm while she was she was swimming in the Wekiva River over the weekend.

The audio recording captured just how frantic the scene was Saturday afternoon as nearby canoers came to her rescue.

"It completely bit her arm off at the shoulder," one caller told a 911 dispatcher. That man helped save 37-year-old Rachael Lilienthal's life after an alligator attacked as she was swimming in a remote area near Wekiva Island.



Debra Morris, who witnessed the attack from a bridge, saw a couple in nearby canoes make a harrowing rescue.

"It was, like, splashing around," Morris said. "Then her boyfriend came and got one of the oars and was trying to beat the gator off."

The report from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said a handful of people in canoes paddled over to help as the alligator tried to pull Lilienthal under the water. They saw that the alligator had torn off part of Lilienthal's arm and bitten her multiple times.

Lilienthal's rescuers held onto her as they paddled to shore to get help.

911 Dispatcher: Where is the alligator? Caller: We do not know where the alligator is.

Another witness told deputies she saw the alligator chewing on the woman's blue bathing suit.

"When the gator attacked her, he tore her bathing suit off," Morris said.

Trappers captured and euthanized the alligator Sunday. Florida Fish and Wildlife officials confirmed it was the same alligator after cutting into the gator's stomach. They said the alligator was nearly 9 feet long and weighed over 300 pounds.



(David Yates, Staff)

A worker at Wekiva Island said there has not been an alligator attack at their attraction in more than six years, but added there are signs posted on the property warning swimmers of the potential danger.

Lilienthal was taken to the Orlando Regional Medical Center, where she continued to recover Monday.

Rescuer: 'I just happened to be at the right place at the right time'



Josh Helwig was canoeing with his girlfriend Saturday, when he heard Rachael Lilienthal scream for help.

Two kayakers nearby arrived at the same time and started yelling at Helwig to put Lilienthal into his large canoe to prevent the kayaks from tipping over, fearing the alligator was still nearby.



"They started yelling at us, saying, 'Put her in your canoe,'" Helwig recalled. "I turned and I looked, and all the water around us was just red."

Helwig said Lilienthal hoisted her own legs into his canoe, while two people on a kayak held her upper body and put pressure on the wound as they paddled to shore. He said Lilienthal, a teacher from Orlando, was not screaming, but appeared panicked, later saying, "I can't believe I lost my arm."

Kayakers who helped Lilienthal kept talking to her and asking her questions so she would not pass out or go into shock.

Despite his heroic actions and split-second thinking, Helwig didn't call himself a hero, instead saying, "I just happened to be at the right place at the right time to help her out."

Helwig said Lilienthal has reached out to her rescuers to thank them for saving her.