Officials kill gator responsible for deadly attack of 61-year-old

LAKE WALES, Fla. (WESH) - Florida wildlife officials released new details on an alligator attack that killed a 61-year-old woman earlier this year.

The attack happened on May 6 as Cynthia Diekema and her husband canoed along shallow water in Tiger Creek near Lake Wales.

“It’s a very tragic accident,” Brandon Fisher, an alligator expert at Gatorland Orlando, said.

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) investigators, Diekema and her husband left Lake Kissimmee State Park around 10 a.m. in an 11-foot canoe.

According to FWC records, the couple saw a number of alligators along their journey. And as they canoed along Tiger Creek, investigators said Diekema said, “we’re about to go right over top of one.”

“The canoe, from my understanding, went across the back of the gator,” Fisher said. “That spooked that alligator because it doesn’t know what’s going on or what just touched it and when a gator of that size decides to move, it happens fast.”

FWC said the gator was 11½ feet.

The alligator’s panicked thrashing sent both Diekema and her husband into 2-foot-deep water.

Investigators said the alligator clamped onto Diekema’s midsection. Her husband tried to pry her loose for several minutes but couldn’t.

During that time, FWC said Diekema was alert but couldn’t speak. According to her husband’s account, FWC said she also had a puzzled look.

The gator did a death roll, and investigators said it eventually got away with Diekema in its mouth.

The husband, who dropped his phone during the encounter, said he couldn’t call for help until he found an air boater.

The gator was found and humanely killed later, but Diekema’s right arm was never found.

“That size alligator could fully submerge and you not see it in that deep of water,” Fisher said. “It, unfortunately, got spooked and what the outcome was is what the outcome was.”

State wildlife officials continue to urge people enjoying recreation in Florida waterways to remain alert and keep a safe distance from alligators, especially in shallow areas where encounters are more likely.