Video shows officials wrangling alligator after it snatched and killed a Florida grandmother
Dramatic new bodycam footage shows the grisly aftermath of a deadly alligator attack that took the life of a homeless Florida grandmother — as officials piece together what may have led to the tragedy.
Sabrina Peckham, 41, was killed and dragged by the beast in September into a canal along a residential street in Largo, a small community four miles south of Clearwater.
After a bystander noticed Peckham’s mangled body in the gator’s jaws, officials yanked the carnivorous animal out of the water using rope and chains, according to the video obtained by Fox 13.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials can be seen laying the beast out on the pavement — where they measured it to be a jaw-dropping 13 feet and 9.5 inches long — before using a rifle to fatally shoot the animal.
The gator was eventually cut open so FWC officials could remove some of Peckham’s remains.
Although what provoked the beast to snatch her remains a mystery, an accompanying FWC report offers some clues into what may have led up to the deadly encounter.
Peckham was living at a makeshift campsite just 35 feet from the canal. There was no evidence the gator had ever been at the camp and Peckham’s body didn’t show signs that she had been in the water before the massive reptile dragged her in.
However, a park ranger wrote in the report that he believes he spotted her walking in the area just a week prior.
The canal, known as McKay Creek, is popularly used by alligators to travel between Ridgecrest Lake and Taylor Lake, the report states.
Peckham also had a history of trespassing on wetland property — including just two months before and half a mile from where she would be killed.
Her heartbroken daughter found solace in her “unbearable pain,” saying at the time that she hoped Peckham was “no longer struggling or hurting.”
Pinellas County has since put up fencing and signs to keep people away from the canal.
