HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (AP) — A South Carolina woman died Tuesday after being attacked by an alligator while walking her dog near a golf course, authorities said.
The 69-year-old woman, whose name was not released, was found dead in the Spanish Wells community on Hilton Head Island, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The woman was found on the edge of a lagoon on the edge of a golf course.
An alligator appeared to be guarding the woman, interrupting rescue efforts, the sheriff’s office said.
The alligator was safely removed and the woman’s body recovered.
The dog was safely located, said Major Angela Viens, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.
This is the second fatal alligator attack in Beaufort County in the past year, sheriff’s officials said. An 88-year-old Sun City woman was attacked by an alligator in a lagoon near her home in August 2022.