SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A 31-year-old Orlando woman died Sunday after an encounter with an alligator while she was swimming with friends near the Econlockhatchee River at the Barr Street Trailhead, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The attack has renewed attention on decades of FWC data tracking one of Florida’s most dangerous wildlife encounters.
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“Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida,” FWC said in an official statement following the incident.
The data, however, tells a nuanced story — one that points to larger animals as the most significant factor in Florida’s deadliest encounters.
500 unprovoked bites recorded since 1948
FWC has tracked unprovoked alligator bites in Florida since 1948. Through February 2026, the agency recorded 500 total unprovoked bites statewide — 346 classified as major, 153 as minor, and 32 confirmed fatal prior to the June 28 incident.
All bites included in the FWC summary are considered unprovoked, defined as attacks by wild alligators not provoked by handling or intentional harassment. Major bites are defined as injuries requiring medical care beyond first aid. Minor bites are defined as superficial injuries requiring no treatment beyond first aid.
Bite totals have risen in recent years
Annual bite totals have fluctuated over the decades, but recent years reflect a notable upward trend as Florida’s human population has grown and recreational use of natural areas has increased.
Florida recorded 23 total unprovoked bites in 2023 — the highest single-year total in more than a decade — including two fatalities. The years 2024 and 2025 each saw additional incidents, with 11 and 13 total bites recorded, respectively.
Two deaths were recorded in 2025 alone: Cynthia Diekema, 61, killed while canoeing on Tiger Creek in Lake Wales in May, and Deborah Herndon, 73, found deceased at a residential pond in Palm Harbor in October.
The 10-year period from 2016 through 2025 produced 116 total unprovoked bites and 10 fatalities — accounting for nearly one-third of all recorded fatal attacks in Florida’s history.
Large gators involved in Florida’s deadliest attacks
Of the 32 confirmed fatal attacks on record prior to June 28, the responsible alligators in cases where size was recorded ranged from 6 feet, 8 inches to 13 feet, 8 inches. The pattern is clear: the larger the alligator, the greater the risk of a fatal outcome.
The largest alligator involved in a previously recorded fatal Florida attack measured 13 feet, 8 inches — a male responsible for the September 2023 death of Sabrina Peckham, 41, found at McKay Creek in Largo. The two alligators captured following the June 28 attack — measuring 13 feet and 12-and-a-half feet — fall at the very top of that historical size range.
Several other fatal attacks involved alligators of 12 feet or more:
- A 12-foot, 4-inch male killed 54-year-old Janie Melsek while she was landscaping near a pond in Sanibel in 2004.
- A 12-foot, 4-inch male killed 47-year-old Shizuka Matzuki while she walked her dogs along a lake in Davie in 2018.
- A 12-foot, 3-inch male killed 20-year-old Michelle Reeves while she was swimming in a retention pond in Lee County in 2004.
- A 12-foot, 2-inch male killed 41-year-old Kevin Murray while he was swimming in a canal in Port Charlotte in 2005.
Not every fatal attack has involved a record-sized animal, however. A 6-foot, 8-inch alligator was responsible for the October 2025 death of 73-year-old Deborah Herndon at a residential pond in Palm Harbor. A 6-foot, 6-inch male killed 2-year-old Alexandria Murphy at Lake Cannon in Polk County in 2001. Even a 7-foot male was responsible for the 1977 death of George Leonard in Charlotte County after Leonard was bitten while swimming in the Peace River Canal.
FWC urges caution in all Florida freshwater bodies
FWC Lt. Grant Eller offered a straightforward advisory for anyone near Florida’s waterways following the June 28 incident.
“All freshwater bodies in the state of Florida do contain alligators — just use caution when swimming in freshwater,” Eller said.
FWC Public Information Officer Chad Weber echoed that message, noting the risk is statewide — not confined to any single location.
“In the state of Florida, we have alligators in all 67 counties — every body of water could potentially have an alligator in it,” Weber said.
FWC administers the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program to address complaints about alligators believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property. Anyone with concerns about a specific alligator can call the Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 1-866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286), and a contracted trapper will be dispatched to resolve the situation.