Woman dies after alligator attack at Little Big Econ State Forest

A 31-year-old woman died after an alligator bit her while she was swimming near the Barr Street Trailhead in Little Big Econ State Forest in Geneva, putting one of Seminole County’s most-used outdoor corridors under immediate scrutiny. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said the attack happened around 1:30 p.m. Sunday, June 29, and the woman was taken to an area hospital as a trauma patient before she died. The Seminole County Fire Department, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Forest Service also responded.

The attack happened in the Little Big Econlockhatchee Wildlife Management Area, a southeastern Seminole County landscape that covers more than 7,000 acres and includes seven miles of the Little Big Econ River. The area draws hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers and paddlers, which makes the death especially consequential for residents who use the same water and trail systems for recreation, exercise and family outings.

FWC said a nuisance alligator trapper was called to the scene, part of the agency’s standard response when an alligator is believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property. Under the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, the agency says people concerned about an alligator should call 866-FWC-GATOR, or 866-392-4286. FWC says a nuisance alligator is generally at least 4 feet long and considered a danger when it poses a threat.

The agency’s public guidance is built around the same point: alligators live in all 67 Florida counties and are found in practically all fresh and brackish water bodies. FWC says serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, but over the last 10 years the state has averaged eight unprovoked bites a year serious enough to require professional medical treatment. The commission also says its research database has compiled more than 600 alligator incidents from 1948 through 2014, and Florida’s healthy population is estimated at about 1.3 million alligators.

For families, pet owners, anglers and walkers in Seminole County, the practical reading is plain. The Econlockhatchee River and similar waterways are not just scenic backdrops; they are habitat. FWC’s warning to avoid swimming in dark or unfamiliar water now carries added weight for anyone heading into the woods, the river corridor or the shoreline edges of the Little Big Econ.

The death also lands during a burst of recent Central Florida incidents. Local reporting described it as the third alligator attack in Central Florida in the past week, and said it may have been the second fatal alligator bite in the region in the past 10 years, based on FWC documents.