The body of Matthew Riggins, 22, of Palm Bay was found floating in a pond near Latan Court and Barefoot Circle, in Barefoot Bay, 10 days after he was reported missing on Nov. 13, according to Bay News 9.
As police tried to pull the remains of his body out of the pond on Nov. 23, they were nearly attacked by an aggressive 11-foot alligator, Major Tod Goodyear, of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, as reported by The New York Daily News.
When the gator was euthanized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, forensic investigators found Riggins’ hand and foot inside the animal’s stomach, according to officials.
In the hours before his attempted break-in, Riggins told his girlfriend he and another man would be going to the Barefoot Bay community to steal from homes, officers said.
Deputies were called to the area after receiving reports of two men hiding behind homes, The Huffington Post reports.
Officers brought in K-9 units and a sheriff’s helicopter to search the area.
Managing to avoid capture, Riggins called his girlfriend and told her he was being chased, reports say.
The search for the men was unsuccessful and was later called off. Riggins was never heard from again, and the next day, his family reported him missing to the Palm Bay Police Department.
“He probably went into the lake to hide from the officers and the dog, and came across that gator,” Goodyear told Bay News 9. “To hide somewhere to try and get away, and then meeting up with an animal like that, no, I’ve never had that happen before.”
Riggins drowned as a result of the attack and he was missing his lower extremities and part of an arm, deputies told the Orlando Sentinel.
The other man who accompanied Riggins has been identified, but isn’t cooperating with authorities. Deputies haven’t said if he has been charged.
