Frantic 911 calls detail response to woman killed by gator in Florida river

Digital Journalist

A 31-year-old woman died Sunday after being bitten by an alligator while swimming in the Econlockhatchee River, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

“Bad, real bad. Please, hurry … she’s losing a lot of … please hurry … ” a 911 caller said.

“Someone got bit by a gator …”

FWC said the woman, who was from Orlando, was hiking with her friends near the Barr Street Trailhead in the Little Big Econ State Forest.

Officials said they stopped to swim in the river around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

“They were in approximately 3 feet of water,” said Grant Eller with FWC. “The water levels are lower due to a statewide drought, so it is lower (than) normal in that area.”

That’s when they said the gator bit her.

“How bad is the bite?” said the 911 dispatcher. The 911 caller said, “Horrible.”

Her boyfriend stepped in to help, trying to get her out of the alligator’s mouth, according to officials.

“After the incident, the boyfriend was able to maintain hold of the victim,” said an FWC official. “The gator did release.”

911 calls released Monday detail the frantic response.

The caller described the woman’s injuries: “Both her arms are dislocated … off basically … one arm is completely off.”

The 911 operator asks, “Is the gator coming back?”

“No, it went away,” the caller says.

“We’re far off the trail, we’re off of a little launch area by the river … We need help now!” the caller says.

“You may see a helicopter. If you see it, just try and flag it down if you can,” the operator responds.

FWC said the victim died while on the way to the hospital.