California woman, 31, killed by alligator on Florida hike

A California woman died after she was bitten by an alligator on a hike in Florida, wildlife officials said. 

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Last Sunday, Brittany Clark, 31, her boyfriend and a friend were hiking in Little Big Econ State Forest, a 5,000-acre park near Orlando. While hiking a trail, they took a break to swim in the Econlockhatchee River. Clark was in about 3 feet of water when she was grabbed by an alligator, which bit both of her arms. 

“The boyfriend was the one that made the phone call [for help],” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson Chad Weber said at a news conference Monday. “He was trying to get her from the alligator’s mouth.”

When first responders arrived, Clark was badly wounded. She died en route to the hospital. 

Clark graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Sacramento, KCRA reported. According to Florida news outlets, Clark was living in Orlando and working for a construction company that does road projects throughout the state. “She loved her job where she operated a bulldozer running a dirt crew and loved going out on the water every chance she could,” Clark’s boyfriend told NBC. “Never in a million years would we have seen this nightmare come about.”

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Florida wildlife officials caught two alligators in the area of the attack, a 13-foot animal and a 12-foot one. They were both euthanized, and tests are being done to determine if one was responsible for the attack. 

Clark’s family is raising funds to bring her remains home to California.