In an ironic piece of karma – or just natural selection doing what it does – a burglar hiding from authorities near a Florida lake was consumed alive by an 11-foot alligator.

The body of Matthew Riggins, 22, was discovered in the water at Barefoot Bay in Florida, 10 days after his initial disappearance. Police report that Riggins was attacked by an alligator after a string of orchestrated household robberies.

Officials say that Riggins had told a friend that he and a companion were going to rob some homes in Brevard County on November 13. That same night, two suspicious men dressed in black were reported to police to be lurking behind homes.

Florida Today reported that various screams were heard that night, although the exact source of the screams could not be found. Riggins was reported missing the very next day, although his family called off the search. Before he was reported missing, Riggins called his girlfriend to tell her that he would be in the area robbing homes.^(1,2)

Dead meat

Maj. Tod Goodyear of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that sheriffs had discovered Riggins’s body ten days after he went missing. His body was found in a nearby lake with injuries that had the signature marks of an alligator attack. Florida Today reported that Riggins might have been hiding in the Barefoot Bay lake in an attempt to hide from law enforcement.

“So at that point, we had a belief that he was probably attacked by the alligator when he was trying to get away from police,” Goodyear said.⁽¹⁾

Officials concluded that Riggins had died from drowning. Bites along his leg and body suggested that he had been dragged underwater by a large animal. Officials euthanized an alligator in the lake, which acted aggressively towards divers. According to a forensic examination, some of Riggins’ remains were found inside the alligator’s stomach.

“When the body was found, it had injuries that were consistent with an alligator attack,” Goodyear said. “We had trappers euthanize the gator and when we opened it up, there were some remains inside that were consistent with injuries found on the body.”⁽²⁾

Riggins’ alleged accomplice has since been located by authorities, but has reportedly been uncooperative with the investigation. Goodyear said that reports of burglaries near the homes of snowbirds returning home for the winter are under investigation in relation to Riggins and his compliance.⁽¹⁾

Later gator

While alligator attacks seem to be commonplace in Florida, most alligators don’t like to eat humans. Small alligators make up the bulk of the alligator population. They will not attack anything they cannot swallow in a single gulp. They often wait for hours before snatching their prey. In the event that the alligator’s prey fights back, it is typically abandoned. Even large alligators tend to choose prey that is relatively small.⁽³⁾

Large alligators, like the one that attacked Riggins, are less common, but are the greatest threat to people because we qualify as a legitimate meal to them. A full grown alligator spanning eight to eleven feet in length can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. These alligators are a threat to humans, though they still prefer to avoid interacting with people altogether.

Although Florida averages about 12,000 complaints about reptiles annually, there’s an average of only four alligator attacks in the United States a year. And since 1948, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has only received 356 reports of alligators attacking humans. While one alligator attack is one too many, the statistics reveal that alligator attacks are far less common than the mainstream media has led the public to believe.⁽³⁾

In this particular alligator attack, Riggins simply bit off more than he could chew.

Sources include:

(1) InsideEdition.com

(2) USAToday.com

(3) Adventure.HowStuffWorks.com