1 dead after alligator attack in South Carolina

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WTOC/Gray News) - A woman is dead following an alligator attack on Hilton Head Island on Tuesday.

Law enforcement responded to Brams Point Road in the Spanish Wells community for a report of a possible alligator attack near a lagoon bordering the golf course around 9:28 a.m.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said a 69-year-old resident of the community was found at the edge of the lagoon and appeared to be unresponsive. First responders tried to get to the woman, but her body was being guarded by an alligator.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said the nearly 10-foot male alligator was eventually removed and was euthanized. The department said initial information from the scene was that the woman was walking her dog near the lagoon when the alligator attacked.

The Beaufort County coroner identified the victim as Holly Jenkins, of Hilton Head Island. An autopsy is scheduled Wednesday to determine Jenkins’ official cause of death.

A woman who lives just down the street said her and her two dogs encountered an alligator themselves very recently.

“We were on a golf cart ride the other day with the dogs and not five feet away from us was a huge alligator. You just have to be aware of your surroundings, understand they live here, this is their territory and respect that fact that you need to stay away,” Michelle Cheadle said.

This is the second deadly alligator attack in Beaufort County in less than a year. In 2022, an 88-year-old Sun City woman was attacked by an alligator at a lagoon near her home.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said nearly any body of water in the Lowcountry could have alligators living in it.

This alligator activity chart from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources shows that alligators are ending mating season and are in nesting season.

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