Houston authorities, searching for a missing woman, stumbled upon a body in the vicinity.
The remains have yet to be identified. To prevent further harm to the body, officials shot and killed the alligator they believed responsible.
Following the alligator’s demise, a diver entered the water to retrieve the remains.
While awaiting autopsy results and identification, Houston police suspect the victim to be a woman in her 60s.
Their investigation will ascertain whether the alligator caused her demise or if it encountered her remains postmortem.
A comparable incident occurred eight months prior in Largo, Florida, where officials euthanized a 13-foot alligator discovered carrying a torso.
The remains were later confirmed to be those of 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham.
Months earlier in Fort Pierce, Florida, a 10-foot alligator fatally attacked an 85-year-old woman walking her dog.
Though alligator encounters are common in Florida, such incidents are rare in Texas, where Tuesday’s events unfolded.
The last recorded alligator-related fatality in Texas occurred in 2015, when a 28-year-old man was killed while swimming in Orange.