Sharjah24 – Reuters: A 504-pound alligator believed to have killed a 71-year-old Louisiana man in Hurricane Ida floodwaters has been captured with what appears to be human remains in its stomach, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office said.
The 12-foot alligator's capture ended a two-week search by local and state agencies for Timothy Satterlee Sr, who had last been seen on Aug. 30 checking the storm damage outside his home in Slidell, about 35 miles (55 km) northeast of New Orleans.
The attack occurred the day after Ida, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to strike the U.S. Gulf Coast, slammed Louisiana, causing devastating flooding in some areas outside a new levee and floodgate system protecting New Orleans.
An alligator "weighing a startling 504 pounds" was caught on Monday in a trap set by two Louisiana Department of Wildlife licensed nuisance hunters, according to a statement from St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office.
"Once the alligator was searched, it was discovered to have what appears to be human remains inside its stomach," the sheriff's office said. "Investigators will work with the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office to verify those remains belong to Timothy Satterlee."
Wildlife agents were scouring the area in air boats on Saturday when a drone they had deployed spotted a "rather large" alligator not far from the Satterlee home, said Captain Lance Vitter, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office.
The agents set traps, which proved successful on Monday. The agents then euthanized and cut open the alligator "and that's when they discovered the body parts," Vitter said. "It was the upper parts of a human body."
According to the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, male alligators can grow as heavy as 1,000 lbs (454 kg).
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