504-pound alligator suspected of killing Louisiana man when Ida was found with human remains in stomach

Authorities have captured a 504-pound alligator suspected of attacking and killing a 71-year-old Louisiana man during Hurricane Ida.

The 12-foot reptile was found in the Avery Estates area near Slidell, a town on Lake Pontchartrain across from New Orleans, according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. It was near where Timothy Satterlee Sr., a man who survived the devastating wrath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, disappeared in Ida’s floodwaters on August 30.

“The alligator was caught this morning by one of the traps and brought to a safe place to be searched,” the sheriff’s office said Monday. “Once the alligator was searched, it was discovered that it had what appears to be human remains inside its stomach.”

Investigators said they would work with the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office to verify whether the remains belonged to Satterlee.

The victim’s wife told MPs that a commotion prompted her to exit when she witnessed the attack and rushed to help her husband, the sheriff’s office said. Authorities said she pulled him out of the flood waters immediately after the attack and entered the house to gather first aid supplies.

Slidell Fire spokesman Jason Gaubert said the man lost an arm.

“When she (…) realized the severity of her injuries, she immediately got into her canoe (boat) and went to higher ground, about a kilometer and a half away, to get some help, “the sheriff’s office previously said. “When she came back, her husband was no longer lying on the steps.”

Sheriff Randy Smith called the incident a “horrible tragedy”.

“I know today’s findings don’t bring their loved one back, but hopefully it can give them some sort of closure,” he said in a statement.