Divers have recovered
the body of a woman killed by a 12-foot, 6-inch alligator in Davie, officials say.
Divers have recovered the body of a woman killed by an alligator in a Davie park, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“Search teams located the body of Shizuka Matsuki at approximately 9:49 p.m., June 8, 2018 at the Silver Lakes Rotary Nature Park lake in Davie,” said FWC spokesman Robert Klepper in a statement Saturday morning.
“The FWC will be conducting a thorough investigation into this incident,” he said.
Matsuki, 47, of Plantation, disappeared while walking her two dogs near a lake in the park Friday morning. A passer-by saw her with the dogs initially but a short while later only saw the dogs barking at the water’s edge and called police.
One of the dogs was bitten by the gator, Davie police said. Both dogs were taken to Broward County Animal and Care and Adoption.
Trappers caught the suspect alligator Friday afternoon and found a human arm inside its stomach, officials said. With the reptile out of the water, divers were able to go into the lake to look for the body.
Some neighbors have complained about the alligators at the park in the 5600 block of Southwest 52nd Street.
Three trappers had been hired in the past 18 to 24 months to try to capture the gator, Davie’s assistant parks director said. He hadn’t heard of any sabotaged traps or interference in capturing the alligator. The gator eluded the traps and there hadn’t been a sighting in the last month, said Jeff Polhman, the assistant director.
The Matsuki family was notified late Friday night that her body had been found, Klepper said.
“We would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Matsuki,” he said.