Human remains found inside gator that grabbed Florida woman walking her dogs, cops say

Trappers who captured a gator that they believe dragged a woman into a lake while she was walking her dogs said Friday afternoon. They found body parts inside the reptile.

A massive search has been underway since Friday morning when 47-year-old Shizuka Matsuki of Plantation was walking her two dogs at the Silver Lakes Rotary Nature Park, just west of Florida’s Turnpike, when she was grabbed by an alligator. The woman's dogs wouldn't leave the pond, said police, who confirmed the woman's identity.

"After an initial necropsy, evidence was found that indicates that the victim of this incident was bitten by the alligator that was captured earlier today," Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Robert Klepper said in an email. "The FWC believes that the victim is deceased and we will continue recovery efforts on the lake with local authorities."

Authorities reported that "human remains" were found inside the gator.

"One of her dogs got bit by the gator," Davie Police Maj. Dale Engle told the Sun Sentinel. Matsuki's husband, who is out of town, has been told his wife went missing after walking the dogs, the paper reported.

According to Local 10 News, a witness told police he saw the woman walking her two pit bulls on the path around the Silver Lakes Rotary Nature Park, which sits between Stirling and Griffin roads just west of the Turnpike. The two were walking in different directions and parted ways. The park is surrounded by a residential community.

Soon after, he saw the two dogs without the woman and one dog appeared to be severely injured. The woman was nowhere around and a gator had been spotted in the pond. The dogs are currently with Animal Care.

Broward County Animal Care officers, the Broward medical examiner, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were all at the scene.

"This tragedy is heartbreaking for everyone involved," Klepper said.

According to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida has averaged six unprovoked alligator bites per year over the last 10 years. These wounds are serious enough to require professional medical treatment.

There has not been a significant trend in alligator attacks in the past decade, the FWC reports. From 1948 to 2017, 401 unprovoked bite incidents have occurred in Florida with 24 of these proving fatal.

In June 2016, a Nebraska toddler who was visiting a Disney resort in the Orlando area was grabbed and killed by a gator at one of the resort's lakes.

This developing story will be updated as more details become available.

This story was originally published June 8, 2018 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Human remains found inside gator that grabbed Florida woman walking her dogs, cops say."