ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (WPTV) — A Florida woman recalls the harrowing moments she spent saving her 85-year-old neighbor from a deadly alligator attack.
As Carol Thomas opened her bedroom window for some fresh air around noon on Monday, she heard a noise outside. She went to check it out and was stunned by what she saw: Her neighbor, 85-year-old Gloria Serge, was in trouble, trapped in the jaws of a 10-foot alligator.
“Of an alligator that came out of the water and had her leg,” Thomas said.
She quickly called 911 and then turned back to the water. She couldn’t see Serge anymore.
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“Then I saw her emerge about five feet out there, and she got up, brushed her hair back and tried to catch her breath. I asked her to swim to the boat to either get to her or give her something. She said, “I can’t. The alligator got me,’” Thomas said.
Running to get a shepherd’s hook, Thomas approached the bank and desperately tried to help her neighbor.
“Let her grab it, or if she couldn’t grab it, I could at least hook her … or hit the alligator when it shows up.” But when I came back, she was nowhere,” Thomas said.
Officials say Serge was walking her dog near a detention pool in the seniors’ community when she was attacked and killed by the alligator. Her body has since been recovered.
Thomas says Serge was a wonderful neighbor who always walked their Shih Tzu.
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After the attack, other neighbors called and stopped by to check on Thomas, which she appreciates. The tragedy has reinforced her belief in keeping her two cats out of the water and all alligators. She also says she will be more aware of her surroundings.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has captured the alligator responsible, who is believed to have been euthanized.
Serge’s dog was not injured in the attack and was cared for by a neighbor.
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