Overview
- The attack occurred on June 28 when 31‑year‑old Brittany Clark was grabbed in about three feet of water at the Little Big Econ State Forest and suffered catastrophic arm injuries before she was pronounced dead.
- Responding trappers captured and euthanized two large alligators, roughly 12.5 and 13 feet, and submitted tissue from both animals for DNA testing at a Gainesville lab to determine which animal was responsible.
- A preliminary Orange County medical examiner report says a row of teeth on the head of a roughly 12‑foot alligator is consistent with bite marks on Clark’s left arm, a match that could identify the attacker while laboratory DNA results are pending.
- Investigators and the medical examiner requested photographs of the gator’s stomach contents, and reporting that the animal’s body was buried has prompted public and procedural questions about evidence preservation.
- Florida officials say fatal alligator attacks remain rare but note that low water from drought and seasonal mating and nesting behavior can concentrate animals and raise the risk of human encounters, and the FWC’s nuisance alligator response continues to be part of the case review.