A pensioner was tragically killed and "held hostage" in an apparent deadly alligator attack.
The victim, named as 88-year-old Nancy A. Becker, was reportedly killed after she found herself in a pond at the gated community she was living in at the time in Sun City, South Carolina, US.
Reports from local media say she had slipped into the pond while gardening, where she was then pounced upon by the alligator.
An autopsy is now being carried out at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston to determine the cause of death.
Beaufort County sheriff’s spokeswoman Major Angela Viens said: "The alligator was basically holding her hostage, I guess — I don't know what the appropriate term would be. It was guarding her and did not want people close by."
Authorities found the body being guarded by the huge reptile well over 9ft in length, which was eventually caught and euthanised.
It is believed to have taken over two hours to recover the body.
Becker was killed on August 15 and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at around 11:45am local time when they received reports of a woman in the water.
The Hilton Head Sun City is home to around 55 people and the city is in something of an alligator hotspot.
There have been three attacks in Sun City in the last three years.
There are an estimated 100,000 alligators living in the state of South Carolina alone. Despite this, attacks remain relatively rare.
Two people have been killed by alligators in the state alone this year and it is the fourth death in 2022 overall.
Alligators prefer marshes to hunt their prey in and Beaufort County has around 25% of the marshes on the US coastline.
The last fatality occurred in the coastal county in 2018 when an alligator pulled a small dog and the 45-year-old female owner into a pond by grabbing the dog's lead.
Despite warnings about attacks and the danger of alligators, another person died in 2020 South Carolina when they got up close to the beast and tried to touch it.
Alligator attacks are known to increase around summertime when the animal's 'metabolism increases' and becomes more active.
Male American alligators can grow up to 10 to 15 feet in length and can weigh 1,000 pounds.
They feed mainly on the animals in their habitat such as fish and even turtles and snakes.
National Geographic said: "However, they are opportunists, and a hungry gator will eat just about anything, including carrion, pets and, in rare instances, humans."
