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Man Found Floating Near Alligator In Lakeland Had Drowned
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Published: May 18, 2008
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LAKELAND - A man found Saturday floating near an alligator that had been feeding on his remains drowned, according to an autopsy Sunday.
The man, who was not identified by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, did not die directly from an alligator bite, and there were no signs of foul play.
Two anglers found the body about 7:30 a.m. while fishing near Philip's Bait and Tackle, south of U.S. 92. It was floating face down, with an alligator hovering nearby. The man's arms were missing.
State wildlife officers killed the 7-foot, 7-inch female. The people who found the body put their boat between it and the alligator to keep the reptile away after calling for help.
Though the man drowned, he still may be a victim of a gator attack.
"That doesn't tell us if the alligator did it," said Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Alligators usually drown large prey, he said.
The man's missing arms were not found inside the alligator's stomach, but other body parts were, Morse said.
The man, described as between 35 and 50 with dark hair, had wounds consistent with alligator bites, sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers said Saturday.
The wounds could have come after the man died.
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