Overview
- Investigators confirmed on July 16 that laboratory testing matched Brittany Clark’s DNA to a 13‑foot alligator captured and euthanized after the June 28 attack at the Barr Street Trailhead in the Little Big Econ State Forest.
- After the June 28 assault, contracted nuisance alligator trappers captured two large alligators, about 12½ feet and 13 feet long, and FWC’s bite‑mark comparisons had already pointed to the larger animal.
- Medical examiner and FWC accounts say Clark suffered critical injuries after an alligator grabbed her arm and executed a “death roll,” her boyfriend and a friend tried to rescue her and she later died en route to a hospital.
- FWC says the agency’s Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program is treating public safety as its top priority, urging people to call the Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866‑FWC‑GATOR and follow guidance such as swimming only in designated areas and keeping pets away from the water.
- The agency’s investigation remains active and FWC has said it will release additional records when the probe is complete, a step that could clarify evidence handling and the sequence of the forensic work that led to the DNA match.