US: Alligator fatally attacks woman near golf course lagoon, then ‘guards’ her dead body

Washington: A US woman was killed by an alligator while walking her dog near a lagoon bordering a golf course, police said, adding the animal guarded her body and kept rescuers back.

The 69-year-old resident of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina was found Tuesday at the edge of the lagoon, the Beaufort County sheriff's office said.

"Rescue efforts were made and an alligator appeared and was guarding the woman, interrupting emergency efforts," the office said in a statement.

The woman was found at the edge of a lagoon bordering a golf course. An alligator appeared to be guarding the woman, interrupting emergency rescue efforts, the sheriff’s office said.

The alligator was safely removed and the woman’s body was recovered. An autopsy is pending.

This is the second fatal alligator attack in Beaufort County in the past year, sheriff's officials said. An 88-year-old Sun City woman was attacked by an alligator at a lagoon near her home in August 2022.

Alligators are common in the southeast US, especially in Florida.