Friends watched for gator as woman bled, 911 calls reveal

A chilling 911 call after a Central Florida alligator attack reveals the desperation to save a life on the sandy bank of the Econlockhatchee River, and the terror that the gator would attack again.

Friends were able to pull a 31-year-old woman from the river on Sunday, June 28 after an alligator bit off one of her arms and severely injured the other while she, her boyfriend and friend were in 3-foot deep water. The woman died on the way to the hospital, according to the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission.

But a desperate 12 minute call to 911 reflects that she was still conscious for a period before first responders could arrive.

"She's awake, she's awake, she's breathing. I'm watching for the gator right now. He's going away," said a friend to the 911 dispatcher.

"How bad is the bite?" the dispatcher asked.

"Horrible. One of her arms is completely off. One is attached barely."

As of Monday afternoon, two alligators were caught and killed. One was 12-feet-long, the second was 13-feet long. DNA samples were taken from the two alligators and will be tested in Gainesville to see if either is the alligator that attacked the woman.

During mating season in Florida, alligators are territorial

FWC officials said the Econlockhatchee River was low because of an ongoing drought.

"With low water levels that we have, we are coming to the end of mating season and they are very territorial," an FWC spokesman said. "It's hard to speculate on the gator's intentions. It doesn't seem out of the question that it was a bite and release incident."

The attack that led to the woman's death was the second alligator-related incident on Sunday. Earlier in the day, a boy fishing from the shore at Nelson's Fish Camp in Marion County was bitten on the hand by a more than 8-foot alligator. WESH TV reported that the alligator was killed after the incident.

The two attacks Sunday follow one on June 21 where a snorkeler was bitten by an alligator in the Rainbow River near Dunnellon in Marion County. FWC said in the incident with the snorkeler that the alligator was found by a contracted alligator trapper and killed.

"Living in Florida there are alligators in every body of water," said an FWC spokesman at a press conference on Monday about the fatal Sunday attack. "I'm not sure if there are signs there, but there is some risk when you swim in the bodies of water in the state of Florida."

In the 12-minute call to 911 on Sunday, the boyfriend first speaks and then hands the phone to the woman's friend.

"I can't move!" someone screams, possibly the woman who was bitten.

"No, it's OK, we're good," the friend says.

"No, we're not," the man answers.

"I'm watching for the gator right now," the friend says. "It's gone away."

The friend of the 31-year-old who died says that they are about 12 minutes from the entrance of the Barr Street Trailhead in Oviedo, northeast of Orlando.

"Is the bleeding serious," the dispatcher asks during the call.

"It's horrible. It's severe," the caller responds.

"Do you know where the other arm is?"

"It's gone," the caller says.

At one point the friend runs breathlessly toward the entrance to flag down emergency vehicles. But then returns to her friend when the dispatcher says they have pinpointed her location.

Alligator attacks are rare but account for more than 30 deaths

The Econlockhatchee River, a north-flowing blackwater tributary of the St. John's River, is a popular destination for hikers and kayakers. Barr Street Trailhead is the main entrance, has a parking lot and is within walking distance to the river.

It's unknown if the area has signs alerting to the presence of alligators but University of Florida wildlife biologist Frank Mazzotti said signs aren't always effective.

"If you put so many signs up, people just ignore them," he said. "You cannot put a sign every place where there could possibly be an alligator because you'd have to put a sign up at every water body in the state."

There are an estimated 1.3 million alligators in Florida.

In Florida, 32 people have been killed by alligators in records dating back to 1948, according to FWC. Two of those occurred last year including a 61-year-old woman killed while canoeing with her husband in Polk County. The second person killed last year was a 73-year-old woman found dead at a residential pond in Palm Harbor in Pinellas County.

There have also been 346 alligator attacks since 1948 that resulted in major injuries with 153 resulting in minor injuries.

How can you avoid being attacked by an alligator in Florida?

FWC recommends swimming in designated areas only and during daylight hours. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn and during the warm summer months.

"It's always safest to assume that there are alligators in any body of fresh or brackish water in Florida," FWC says. "Avoid swimming in areas with dense vegetation, as alligators may hide within vegetation in and around the water."

Mazzotti said alligator breeding season, which can make the large reptiles more feisty, is mostly finished but that the females could be nesting. A nesting alligator may be more defensive in its behavior rather than aggressive.

He said the recent bites are also likely a combination of alligators being more active when the weather is warmer and people spending more time near and in the water when it's warmer.

"You always get this confluence of not only are alligators present and active but people are present and active," said Mazzotti, who leads UF's Croc Docs program. "We have so many alligators and a growing population and a lot of the new people don't understand what their relationship with alligators is."

Kimberly Miller is a journalist for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA. She covers weather, the environment and critters as the Embracing Florida reporter. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. You can get all of Florida's best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Friends watched for gator as woman bled, 911 calls reveal

Reporting by Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post

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This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 10:41 AM.