Woman, 31, killed by alligator while swimming with friends was ‘fun-loving spirit’

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. (WESH) - A 31-year-old Florida woman who was fatally bitten by an alligator while swimming with friends is being remembered as an outgoing, amazing and fun-loving person.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says 31-year-old Brittany Clark died after she was attacked by an alligator Sunday afternoon while swimming with her boyfriend, Chance Allison, and other friends in the Econlockhatchee River.

Allison called the situation a nightmare in a text message statement to NBC and said Clark was the strongest person he knew.

“Brittany was such an amazing and caring person and didn’t deserve to go out in such a way,” he said. “She was the strongest and most outgoing person I’ve ever met in my 30 years of life.”

He added that Clark loved going out on the water “every chance she could.”

“Never in a million years would we have seen this nightmare come about,” he said.

Clark, Allison and friends were hiking in the Little Big Econ State Forest on Sunday when they stopped to swim in the river around 1:30 p.m. Wildlife officials say they were in about 3 feet of water when Clark was bitten by an alligator.

Allison stepped in to help, trying to get her out of the alligator’s mouth, according to officials.

Multiple 911 calls released Monday detailed the frantic response. The caller described Clark’s injuries, saying, “Both her arms are dislocated ... off basically ... one arm is completely off.”

Clark died on the way to the hospital.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help return Clark’s remains to her parents in California, where she’s from. The fundraiser says the 31-year-old was “an amazing person and a fun-loving soul.” She was an avid bike rider who loved her dog.

Following the attack, wildlife officials say they captured and killed two alligators – one, a 13-foot gator near where Clark was bitten and the other, a 12.5-foot gator a half mile away.

To confirm if either of the gators were involved in the deadly attack, the FWC is submitting DNA samples to a lab in Gainesville for testing.

There have been three reported alligator attacks within seven days in Central Florida. Experts are reminding people to only swim in designated areas, keep their distance from the reptiles and never feed them.