BREAKING UPDATE: WITNESS RECALLS GLORIA SERGE’S HEARTBREAKING FINAL WORDS AS 11-FOOT ALLIGATOR LAUNCHED DE-ADLY ATTACK AT FLORIDA RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
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Gloria Serge (pictured) was a grandmother living in the Spanish Lakes Fairways retirement community (Image: Facebook)
It began as an ordinary day for Gloria Serge in the peaceful retirement community where she resided alongside her friends in Florida.
As was her routine, the 85-year-old took her much-loved dog for a lunchtime stroll in February 2023 — it would prove to be the last time she was seen alive.
The enormous, 11-foot creature lunged from the pond in an attempt to seize Gloria’s dog, a Shih Tzu named Trooper, but instead clamped onto the elderly woman’s ankle and pulled her beneath the water.
Her neighbour, Carol Thomas, watched the harrowing scene unfold and immediately rushed to her friend’s aid.
Carol, who also lived at Spanish Lakes Fairways, recalled at the time: “I heard something and I looked and Gloria was down, the dog was running up the hill and I saw the alligator come out and grab her leg.”, reports the Daily Star.
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Gloria pictured with her family(Image: Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith, PLLC)
“She came up for air, and she pushed her hair back you know, out of her eyes and her arm was out and I said Gloria swim toward the paddle boat! We have one overturned in the lake ’cause I figured if she could get there I could shove it out, she could grab it. She said I can’t. The gator has me!”.
Springing into action without hesitation, Carol grabbed a metal pole, intending to strike the alligator on its snout to give her friend a chance to break free. Devastatingly, Gloria never resurfaced.
It is thought the alligator dragged Gloria’s body down to the bottom of the lake. Her dog escaped completely unscathed.
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Carol said: “There’s nothing you can do. Just kind of haunted by that, you know, I don’t know what else I could’ve done.”
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The huge alligator lunged at Gloria’s dog before pulling the pensioner into the water and killing her
A specialist from Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter cautioned people to maintain a distance of at least 15 to 20 feet from any alligator they encounter.
Amy Kight, Executive Director of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, explained: “Do not feed them, do not mess with them, do not try to befriend them. Let them live their life, you do yours and you shouldn’t run into any problems.”
Gloria’s heartbroken son stated at a press conference held at the time: “I never could have imagined the agonizing way that my mother spent the last moments of her life.
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The alligator was caught and killed(Image: FOX35)
“The sudden, violent nature of this attack, thinking about my mom in her final moments, resulted in a whole different level of all-consuming grief.”
The 435-acres Spanish Lakes Fairways complex is thought to be home to several wild alligators inhabiting its lakes.
Nevertheless, at the time the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission emphasised that responsibility lay with local residents to remain vigilant regarding alligators. It urged people to contact them with any concerns, while acknowledging there was no supervision of the lakes at the time.
It further confirmed that the alligator responsible for the attack had subsequently been captured and destroyed.
SOURCE: https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/womans-last-words-11-foot-34358074
