Autopsy shows elderly woman killed by alligator attack

<p>An alligator attack killed an elderly woman whose mauled body was found in a pond, according to an autopsy performed Tuesday.</p><p>A biologist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said it was the first time an alligator killed a person in Georgia since 1980.</p><p>The autopsy found that 83-year-old Gwen Williams died from blood loss from "wounds consistent with those of an alligator attack," said Sgt. Mike Wilson, a spokesman for Savannah-Chatham County police.</p><p>A couple riding in a golf cart Saturday spotted Williams' body, which was missing its left arm, right hand and right foot. Police determined she had been dead since Friday evening.</p><p>Williams was found in a pond about 500 feet from the home she was house-sitting for relatives on Skidaway Island in east Savannah. Wilson said she was from Canada, but he did not know which city.</p><p>Investigators estimated the alligator that attacked Williams was 7-feet long, judging by the size of its bite. The DNR has sent a trapper to Skidaway Island to hunt for it.</p><p>Before Williams' death, only eight known alligator attacks had occurred in Georgia since 1980. None of those were fatal, said Jim Simmons, a senior wildlife biologist for the Georgia DNR.</p><p>Six of the attacks happened when someone either stepped on an alligator or bumped into one submerged in water, Simmons said.</p><p>Though attacks are rare, Simmons stressed that people who spot alligators should keep their distance and never try to feed the animals.</p><p>"The potential's always there _ it's a large carnivore with a very small brain," Simmons said.</p>