A woman swimming in the Econlockhatchee River died after being bitten by an alligator on Sunday, June 28, near the Barr Street Trailhead in Oviedo, northeast of Orlando.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the woman was swimming with friends in the river around 1:30 p.m. when she was bitten and sustained serious injuries. She was taken to a hospital where she later died from her injuries.
A nuisance alligator trapper was called to the scene and the entrance to the trailhead was closed. The scene wasn’t cleared until 7:30 p.m. FWC said the investigation is still active and efforts to find and trap the alligator are ongoing.
“The FWC extends its deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of the victim during this difficult time,” an FWC statement says.
The attack that led to the woman’s death was the second alligator-related incident on Sunday. Earlier in the day a boy fishing from the shore at Nelson’s Fish Camp in Marion County was bitten on the hand by a more than 8-foot alligator. WESH reported that the alligator was killed after the incident.
The two attacks Sunday follow one on June 21 where a snorkeler was bitten by an alligator in the Rainbow River near Dunnellon in Marion County. FWC said in the incident with the snorkeler that the alligator was found by a contracted alligator trapper and killed.
Alligator attacks are rare but account for more than 30 deaths
In Florida, 32 people have been killed by alligators in records dating back to 1948, according to FWC. Two of those occurred last year including a 61-year-old woman killed while canoeing with her husband in Polk County. The second person killed last year was a 73-year-old woman found dead at a residential pond in Palm Harbor in Pinellas County.
Four of the deaths have been of children under 5 years old, including the June 14, 2016 death of Lane Graves, 2, who was killed while playing along the shoreline of Seven Seas Lagoon in Orange County.
There have also been 346 alligator attacks since 1948 that resulted in major injuries with 153 resulting in minor injuries.
How can you avoid being attacked by an alligator in Florida?
FWC recommends swimming in designated areas only and during daylight hours. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn and during the warm summer months.
“It’s always safest to assume that there are alligators in any body of fresh or brackish water in Florida,” FWC says. “Avoid swimming in areas with dense vegetation, as alligators may hide within vegetation in and around the water.”
A 2025 University of Florida study found that risky behaviors, from benignly walking a dog along a canal to knowingly swimming in alligator-infested water, are responsible for most of the unwanted, and sometimes deadly, interactions between people and alligators.
Researchers said they didn’t want to downplay alligator deaths, such as the one that occurred on Sunday, but were trying to change the perception that alligators are wantonly attacking humans.
No-risk behaviors are bites that occurred when the person wouldn’t normally be in an alligator’s way and when the person was not doing anything perilous. They include walking to a fishing hole, swimming in designated swim areas, gardening, sitting on a front porch and looking for a lost dog.
High-risk behaviors include trying to intentionally interact with an alligator, spotting an alligator in the water and going swimming anyway, falling out of a boat onto an alligator or any bite that occurred while the person was drunk or high on drugs.
In between high risk and low risk were behaviors such as walking dogs near the water’s edge, checking crab pots, feeding fish, working on a boat, diving for golf balls, lying with your legs in the water or attempting to evade law officers by jumping in the water.
Traumatic 2025 alligator attack that killed 61-year-old woman
It’s unclear where one of the recent, more traumatic attacks that led to deaeth, would fall on the risk level chart.
It happened May 6, 2025, at Tiger Creek near Lake Wales in Polk County when Cynthia Diekema, 61, was canoeing with her husband David Diekema when their 11-foot-long plastic canoe went over the top of an alligator in about 2 feet of water.
The alligator thrashed. The canoe capsized.
“When Mr. Diekema stood up, he observed Mrs. Diekema’s upper torso in the mouth of the alligator,” the FWC incident report states.
While her husband tried to free her from the alligator’s mouth by gouging at its eyes, Cynthia “was alert but unable to speak, and she had a puzzled look on her face,” the report notes.
The alligator released Cynthai briefly, but bit her again on her shoulder. It did a death roll and swam away with her in its mouth. David stuck a paddle in the dirt where the incident occurred. He had lost his phone in the tumult and had to paddle for help.
Polk County Sheriff’s deputies eventually spotted the alligator with her body still it its mouth. She recovered, missing an arm and lifeless. The 11-foot, 4-inch alligator was euthanized.
People with concerns about an alligator should call FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286). When someone concerned about an alligator calls the Nuisance Alligator Hotline, FWC will dispatch one of its contracted nuisance alligator trappers to resolve the situation.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA. She covers weather, the environment and critters as the Embracing Florida reporter. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Woman dies after alligator attack in Florida, search for gator ongoing
Reporting by Kimberly Miller, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kimberly Miller, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
