ENGLEWOOD – On Friday an elderly woman was killed after she fell into a pond along a Florida golf course and was attacked by two alligators.
Kurt Kauffman who lives in the Boca Royale neighborhood says the victim, Rose Marie Weigand, was a sweet lady in her 80’s.
“She lives a couple doors down from me and she would bring our trash cans up if we were out of town. Very kind. She always came up. She introduced herself when we moved in,” Kauffman says.
Sarasota deputies believe she fell into the water and was then attacked by two alligators.
“I mean it’s pretty horrible and it’s shocking to think that that could actually happen. We see alligators from time to time but never thought that anything like that could happen,” says resident John Whitworth.
Around 8:15 Friday night, law enforcement officers found a body in a small pond on Cayman Isle Blvd.
Englewood fire says when they arrived alligators were dragging the woman.
“We came home from dinner last night and there were people from the Wildlife Commission, police cars and search lights going on,” Kauffman says.
Now residents say they are going to be more aware when strolling around in the neighborhood.
“Certainly don’t want anything like that to happen to any other folks that are here and they just need to stay away from the lagoons if they see an alligator,” Whitworth said.
Right now a medical examiner is determining the victim’s *exact* cause of death. FWC and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office are investigating.
