Before Fatal Golf Course Gator Attack, Woman Was Pulling Weeds: SCSO

Updated: 12:55 p.m., Monday

ENGLEWOOD, FL — The 80-year-old woman who was fatally attacked by gators in a golf course canal in Englewood Friday night was pulling weeds from the water’s edge before she fell in, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Rose Wiegand was pulling weeds on the water side of a retaining wall at the canal at Boca Royale Golf and Country Club when she fell in just before 8 p.m., the agency said.

A witness told 911 dispatchers that they heard a scream and saw her fall into the water. The caller went into the canal and swam to where Wiegand had been, but they were unable to find her, as the alligators had pulled her beneath the water, according to SCSO.

The attack happened in the area of Cayman Isles Boulevard and Golf View Drive, which is near Wiegand’s home, a sheriff’s office incident report said.

After she fell in, the woman struggled to stay afloat and two gators in the water grabbed her, the sheriff’s office said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission assisted with the initial investigation. A contracted nuisance alligator trapper removed two gators — one 8 feet, 10 inches long and 7 feet, 7 inches long — from the canal, SCSO said.

Since the medical examiner has since ruled Wiegand’s death as a result of the gator attack, the FWC has taken over as the investigating agency, the sheriff’s office said.

The Boca Royale Golf and Country Club is a semi-private club and gated community of homes that sit on 1,000 acres, according to its website.