FWC: Gator likely killed Broward woman

Necropsy of 12-foot alligator pulled from lake suggests woman was bitten.

DAVIE — A Broward County woman died Friday after apparently being bitten by a 12-foot-6-inch alligator while walking her dogs near a lake, authorities said.

State officials confirmed Friday afternoon that Shizuka Matsuki, 47, of Plantation was the victim of the attack after a daylong search of Silver Lakes Rotary Nature Park in Davie.

Robert Klepper, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said FWC will do a full investigation into Matsuki’s death but that it could not confirm that she died from a gator bite or that the alliga-

tor pulled her into the lake.

Evidence from a necropsy of the alligator, which trappers pulled from the lake, suggests she was bitten, FWC said.

The FWC said in October 2017 that the chance of an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is one in 3.2 million.

Since 2008, there have been only two fatalities from alligators reported across the state. The most recent was Lane Thomas Graves, a 2-year-old Nebraska boy killed at Walt Disney World in June 2016.

Authorities searched Friday morning and afternoon for the woman, who was last seen while walking her dogs at the park, about 6 miles west of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

A witness told authorities Friday of seeing a woman walking with two dogs in the park, across Florida’s Turnpike from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The witness said the dogs then were suddenly without their owner and that one of the dogs was injured.

About 10 a.m., a few hours before the search for the woman began, a Facebook user checked into the park’s page and warned of a 7-foot alligator in the lake.

“I know a lot of people walk their dogs and let them swim in the Silver Lakes Park ... so watch out for your lil babies swimming in there!!” said the user, who identified herself as Amy Behm.

It was not known Friday how many complaints state officials had received about alligators at the park, but it is gator mating season in Florida, meaning the animals are more visible and active than normal. Sightings in front yards and near canals are common. An 8-footer strolled through a Port St. Lucie yard last month. Alligators usually feed at dusk and dawn, authorities say.

Kenan Harkin, host of the YouTube channel Kamp Kenan and reptile expert, said it’s possible the alligator was trying to attack the woman’s two dogs. He said alligators of all sizes try to target small prey.

He said it’s also possible that someone had been feeding the alligator, causing it to lose its fear of humans.

“A big 12-foot gator, that’s a confident predator,” he said.

The last known fatal gator bite in Palm Beach County took place in 1993 on the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter. A 10-year-old boy, Bradley Weidenhamer, was swimming in the river when the alligator struck.

In 2013, a 6-year-old survived an alligator attack during a canoe trip at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge west of Boynton Beach. He emerged with only cuts and bruises thanks to quick thinking and help from other people in the park.

In 2017, 14 alligators were euthanized from the Statewide Nuisance Harvest Program — the largest among them nearly a foot smaller than the alligator taken out of the lake Friday. In 2017 in Broward County, two alligators were euthanized.