HURRICANE ida

Alligator Suspected in Post-Ida Attack Captured, Human Remains Found in Stomach

St. Tammany Parish coroner's office is working with investigators to determine if the remains were those of Timothy Satterlee, 71, who has been missing since the Aug. 30 attack.

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries agents Phillip McClurke and Eric Dumas
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Dept.

A 12-foot-long alligator believed to have attacked a Louisiana man in Hurricane Ida floodwaters two weeks ago was captured and killed Monday, and authorities found human remains in its stomach.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office said the parish coroner's office was working with investigators to determine if the remains were those of Timothy Satterlee, 71, who has been missing since the Aug. 30 attack.

Ida had caused widespread flooding and knocked out electricity and phone service in parts of south Louisiana when it came ashore Aug. 29. Satterlee was attacked outside his home, which was surrounded by floodwaters, in the New Orleans suburb of Slidell on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

Hurricane Ida left behind extensive damage — devastating buildings and roads — in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.

Authorities said Satterlee's wife heard a splash and walked outside their home to see the alligator attacking her husband. She managed to pull her severely injured husband to the steps of their home.

She used a small boat to reach higher ground to get help. But, when she and deputies returned to the house, Satterlee was gone.

Sheriff's deputies were joined by federal and state wildlife agents in the search for the alligator. A trap set by alligator hunters captured the 12-foot-long, 504-pound animal Monday morning near the location where Satterlee went missing.

“This is a horrible tragedy and my sincere condolences and sympathy goes to the Satterlee family," Sheriff Randy Smith said in a statement announcing the capture. "I know todays findings does not bring their loved one back, but hopefully this can bring them some sort of closure."

A visitor to a Utah reptile center leapt in to assist an employee who was bit and dragged into an enclosure by an alligator.
The Associated Press/NBC
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