OT & SIAP - On Friday, Kiawah Island resident killed by gator (after being warned)...

[UpstateGC]

Very sad that some people are so naive and foolish when it comes to wild animals...

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) —

Charleston County investigators say a friend yelled at a woman to stay away from a gator before an attack led to the woman’s death on Kiawah Island.

Coroner Rae Wooten said 57-year-old Cynthia Covert died Friday. Covert’s cause of death is drowning and the manner of death was an accident.

According to the coroner, witnesses reported the victim was dragged into the water after she approached an alligator in a lagoon.

A newly released report states that a witness, identified as Covert’s friend, said the victim saw an alligator in the pond behind her house and wanted to get closer.

The witness said as she was cleaning up, she noticed Covert on her back steps and could see the alligator.

A report states the witness yelled at Covert not to get closer, but the victim continued off the back steps toward where the alligator was located.

According to deputies, the witness kept yelling for Covert to get away, and saw that the victim was about 4 feet from the edge of the water when the alligator came up and attacked Covert.

The witness said while she called 911, her husband grabbed a shovel and went toward the incident location. She said her husband tried hitting the gator as the animal kept dragging the victim into the water.

The witness said Covert never screamed during the incident, and said her husband tried to save the victim, but the gator dragged her under the water.

The witness’ husband said he would “never forget this incident” and said he and a neighbor tried to save Covert.

 

[GCDC1959]

WOW!

Would not want to witness that. Been to Kiawah many times and I’m always watching the areas around lagoons and right off the sidewalks and trails.

 

[atl-cock]

Condolences.

 

[Wiles2]

Ugh. In the list of ways to go, that would be close to the bottom.

I live close to the woman that lost her life last year on HHI in almost the same fashion. Her husband still walks the bike trails everyday....and carries a baseball bat along the way.

Kiawah has some massive gators. There's a pond close to the 18th on Ocean Course which must have at least 30 over 10++ feet just lying around. Quite a sight.

 

[Horseshoe 04]

pardon my harshness, but leave them alone
while they may not be undefeated, its close.

 

[atl-cock]

Ugh. In the list of ways to go, that would be close to the bottom.

I live close to the woman that lost her life last year on HHI in almost the same fashion. Her husband still walks the bike trails everyday....and carries a baseball bat along the way.

Kiawah has some massive gators. There's a pond close to the 18th on Ocean Course which must have at least 30 over 10++ feet just lying around. Quite a sight.

The consequences of invading their turf.

 

[uscedge21]

The consequences of invading their turf.

The manner of death is listed as "accident." I have another term for it but do not want to be insensitive.

 

[ClemDent]

One positive of not being good at golf in the Lowcountry is you learn to stay clear of alligators. My Dad was playing out of a deep bunker at Kiawah (or Charleston CC) that was next to the water. He said he only heard an awful noise and a flash. He then proceeded to scale the 6 foot deep bunker in 0.1 secs. He was in his sixties at the time and one of the guys he was playing with (mid-30s) said that was the fastest he’s ever seen an old man move.

 

[Horseshoe 04]

One positive of not being good at golf in the Lowcountry is you learn to stay clear of alligators. My Dad was playing out of a deep bunker at Kiawah (or Charleston CC) that was next to the water. He said he only heard an awful noise and a flash. He then proceeded to scale the 6 foot deep bunker in 0.1 secs. He was in his sixties at the time and one of the guys he was playing with (mid-30s) said that was the fastest he’s ever seen an old man move.

we have always allowed free drops with no penalty and maintained EXTRA social distancing where golf course gators are concerned. Same with some Gainsville Gator Fans too.

 

[atl-cock]

I played Dixie Youth Baseball in Beaufort at the time when Hilton Head Island was just organizing their league, and they had just enough players to field one team per age range in 1972. And thus the Beaufort team which had a Saturday off (happened twice per season per team in the five-team Beaufort league) would have an exhibition game vs the Hilton Head team - one game in Beaufort and one on Hilton Head (wow, a real road game!). I was the right fielder who played the minimum one required inning. The only balls caught during my HHI at-bat were in the adjacent ponds by alligators. And we knew about social distancing back then too!

 

[nikolas22]

Ugh. In the list of ways to go, that would be close to the bottom.

I live close to the woman that lost her life last year on HHI in almost the same fashion. Her husband still walks the bike trails everyday....and carries a baseball bat along the way.

Kiawah has some massive gators. There's a pond close to the 18th on Ocean Course which must have at least 30 over 10++ feet just lying around. Quite a sight.

Have the husband had his day in court yet? I know he had a law suit against Sea Pines. I figured it would be thrown out.

 

[sclawman77]

Read this the other day. Sad. Grew up going to Kiawah every summer as a kid. Plenty of signs all over island saying "dont feed gators" but people do it anyway. Typically gators are not aggressive towards humans (their dogs are another story). I always was very careful though walking around those lagoons at Kiawah. There was a gator in every lagoon/pond on island. Quite a few massive ones too. I remember when I was a kid seeing a huge female gator at kiawah roar at a guy getting too close to her nest. He was lucky he didn't get attacked. That was one of the closest calls I ever saw though-other than an occasional gator snagging my fishing line.

 

[Wiles2]

Have the husband had his day in court yet? I know he had a law suit against Sea Pines. I figured it would be thrown out.

Believe it's still ongoing. I had originally heard the alligator was relocated to the pond only days prior, which might have been an issue for SP. However, have since learned that was probably not the case. But you're right - would be surprised if it didn't eventually get thrown out.

 

[Wiles2]

I played Dixie Youth Baseball in Beaufort at the time when Hilton Head Island was just organizing their league, and they had just enough players to field one team per age range in 1972. And thus the Beaufort team which had a Saturday off (happened twice per season per team in the five-team Beaufort league) would have an exhibition game vs the Hilton Head team - one game in Beaufort and one on Hilton Head (wow, a real road game!). I was the right fielder who played the minimum one required inning. The only balls caught during my HHI at-bat were in the adjacent ponds by alligators. And we knew about social distancing back then too!

From all accounts, that was a wonderful time period to experience. Grass-roots freedom.

 

[atl-cock]

From all accounts, that was a wonderful time period to experience. Grass-roots freedom.

Indeed it was.

Nothwithstanding the gators located on most of the (64+) islands which are part of Beaufort County, HHI and Bluffton probably have multiple DYB leagues of their own these days.