Alligator Seen With Human Corpse in Its Mouth

A Lakland Florida resident was terrified Tuesday by the sight of an alligator with a human body sticking out of its mouth, The Ledger reports.

Lakeland Police Department Sgt. Gary Gross responded to the call and arrived on the scene just in time to find that the alligator still had the body of an unidentified person in its mouth.

Sgt. Gross said the gator dropped the corpse shortly after he arrived and swam away. The body was so badly mutilated, that it was hard to make out the gender.

On June 4, a resident told officers that they had found a backpack and a pair of pants at the Lake Hunter Boat Ramp. An aggressive alligator was also reported twice during the same week.

“It may not be related, but it could be,” Gross said of the clothing and backpack that was found. “They’re looking for anything that could be left because they’re not sure where the body entered the lake.”

Police in Lakeland on scene where alligator was found w a body in its mouth. pic.twitter.com/UmFwX9Mlg3

— Josh Cascio Fox13 (@joshcascio) June 7, 2016

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Krista Day, who works at Florida Presbyterian Homes, directly across from where the body was found. “It’s scary and heart-dropping. When I first saw it, I didn’t believe it.”

The staff at the Florida Presbyterian Homes confirmed that the victim found was not one of their residents.

Lakeland is about 35 miles east of Tampa, Florida.

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson