Video Of Lunging Gator Taken At Florida Lake Where Man's Body Found

LARGO, FL — As disc golf enthusiasts return to their regular matches at Taylor Park in Largo following the death of a man believed to have been killed by an alligator at the park, a Seminole resident provided a frightening perspective on the last thing the park visitor might have seen before he died.

On Tuesday, Foster Thorbjornsen posted a video on his Facebook page showing a bull alligator lunging toward him as he videotaped the reptile in Taylor Lake.

"While walking in a park yesterday near my home in Seminole, I saw a large alligator floating in a lake 20 feet from the shore. He was the biggest alligator I have seen in the wild (8 to 10 feet long)," Thorbjornsen said, describing the encounter on Facebook.

"I stopped to take close-up pictures of him with my zoom lens, while he stared back at me with cold dark menacing eyes. When I turned my gaze away from him to check my camera, he quickly swam to shore and charged at me, stopping when he was almost completely out of the water about 10 feet away from me," Thorbjornsen said. "The timing of his charge was deliberate. He waited for me to turn and look away. It was nerve wracking and intense."

Thorbjornsen said it was only afterward that he recalled reading the story of Sean Thomas McGuinness, 47, who is believed to have been killed by an alligator at the same lake two weeks earlier.

McGuinness' body was spotted floating near the shoreline of Taylor Lake around 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 31, by a resident walking his dog at John S. Taylor Park, 1100 8th Ave. SW.

The 53-acre lake at the park is a well-known alligator habitat. In fact, due to the large population of gators, the city of Largo has posted "No Swimming" signs around the lake.

However, the park is also home to a popular disc golf course. And, sometimes, the discs used to play disc golf end up in the lake.

McGuinness was known to wade into the lake to retrieve the discs and sell them back to disc golfers to earn some extra money. A quality used disc is worth up to $7.

Although Largo police are awaiting the medical examiner's report on the cause of death, which could take up to two months to complete, Largo police public information officer Megan Santo said it was obvious McGuinness was attacked by at least one gator.

He was missing three limbs when first responders pulled his body from the lake.

"While the medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death, it was apparent that McGuinness suffered injuries related to alligators in the lake," said Santo. "Detectives believe this occurred in the nighttime hours, as McGuinness did not appear to have been in the lake for a long period of time before he was discovered."

Police notified the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to report the attack, and the FWC sent out trappers to catch the gator or gators responsible for McGuiness' missing limbs. Trappers caught and euthanized an 8-foot and a 10-foot gator. However, necropsies of the two gators showed they weren't responsible for the attack on McGuinness.

In his Facebook post, Thorbjornsen said he can't help but wonder if he may have had a close encounter with McGuinness' killer.

"This is a park frequented by families with small children who often go to the water's edge," Thorbjornsen said. "Definitely not the ideal place for a large, aggressive, territorial bull gator."

After the gator lunged at him, Thorbjornsen said, "I took only a step or two back before quickly taking more shaky videos and pictures. I wasn't too worried, though, because there was a steep embankment and a tree between him and me."

See related stories:

• Gator Attack Victim Identified; Officials Say Such Attacks Are Rare
• Man Killed In Likely Alligator Attack In Largo Lake: Police