Alligator Found With Human body

Alligator Found With Human body

A 9-foot alligator was spotted  in lakeland Florida with a human body in its jaws on Tuesday has been captured and found to have human remains in its stomach.

"On Tuesday a witness had called 911 to inform them that he had spotted an alligator in the lake with what looked like the body of a human in its jaws and trying to take him down into the water and later the alligator performed a death roll" 

Death roll help alligators have a better grip and shred its prey

After the death roll the alligator spotted the police  approaching and let go of the body and swam off

Police then retrieved the body while the Florida wildlife and game commission dispatched alligator trappers to attempt to catch the gator. 

“A contract trapper for the state caught and killed a 9-foot alligator last night around 8:30,” Sgt. Gary Gross of the Lakeland Police Department tells PEOPLE. “The medical examiner examined the contents of its stomach this morning and found human remains that match the missing parts of the body. ” Sgt. Gross said the reptile released the body shortly after police responded to the scene.

LIVE on #Periscope: Body pulled out of the lake in Lakeland - Police Investigation https://t.co/R5yPcm33zS

— Sgt. Gary B Gross (@GaryBGross) June 7, 2016

 The gator was caught on Tuesday night and the contents of its stomach were examined Wednesday. Gross says the cause of death of the victim, a white male whose body appeared to have been in the water “for more than a day” is still under investigation.

“We haven't determined manner or cause of death because of the body parts that are missing and the decomposition from the water,” Gross explains.

An autopsy has been completed and results of the toxicology report could take up to a month. While there are no open missing persons cases in the area, Gross says a few items have been retrieved from the lake that could be related to the case.

“There was a backpack we found at the boat ramp and other items around the lake like a shirt but we don’t know if they’re tied with this or not,” he says. “People fish here a lot and they often leave things behind. ”

“It’s a very fine line to call them aggressive because our alligators are known to sun themselves on the bank,” Gross says. “Every once in a while you get a call that one of them is charging somebody or trying to get their pet but very few are aggressive unless you agitate them in some way.”

Gross added that the alligators in the area may be more aggressive than usual during their mating season, which runs from April to late June.