Scavengers Found Dead With Torn Body On The Lakeside

Photo by Rae Wallis on Unsplash

JAKARTA - The body of a man was found on the edge of a lake in Florida, USA. His condition was very sad with his body torn apart, allegedly due to being pounced on by a crocodile.

Local officials said the man was previously known to be looking for missing Frisbees to collect and resell.

Police identified the victim as a temporary resident named Sean Thomas McGuinness, 47.

He is the first to die from a crocodile attack in Florida since 2019, said Paul Cozzie, Pinellas County director of parks and conservation resources, Thursday June 2.

One of the victim's arms was severed and his body was found Tuesday morning by a resident walking his dog on the edge of a 21.5-acre reservoir in John S. Taylor Park, Largo, Florida.

Although medics have not confirmed the cause of death, Cozzie said it was unlikely that McGuinness died of natural causes.

He also said that wild animal catchers had removed two crocodiles suspected of being the perpetrators of the attack.

"At this time, detectives believe the victim was searching for the Frisbee in the water, and a crocodile is believed to be the cause of her death," Largo Police said in a statement.

They said the victim was found just meters from a disc floating in the water.

Cozzie said the man was known to have been seen in the park and plunged into the lake, despite the "no swimming" sign.

He did so to collect Frisbees that had fallen from a nearby golf course, then sold them to parkgoers "as a way of supplementing their income."

McGuinness had previously been warned by park rangers to stay away from the lake and was threatened with a fine at least twice in April, Cozzie said.

Another man who did the same a few years ago was also bitten by a crocodile in the face but survived, he said.

In the latter case, McGuinness appears to have descended into the water in the early hours of the morning, which Cozzie calls "prime time" for alligator activity.

Attacks are also common in crocodile breeding season, when males are more protective of their territory and more aggressive than usual, Cozzie said.

He admits that the golf course's 15-meter distance from the lake's edge could pose a problem.