In last week's "Predator Watch" column on how to survive a wild animal attack, I included a section on alligators and crocodiles and mentioned that a snorkeler was bitten this month by an 8-foot alligator in a river in Marion County, Fla. Fortunately, he survived. The two victims in this week's column — a tourist attacked by a crocodile in Mexico and a woman attacked by an alligator in Florida — weren't so lucky.
A California couple witnessed the attack in Mexico. One minute, Jamie Yetter and her fiancé, Chris Bury, were enjoying an evening swim in the pool while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta. The next, they were out at sea on a kayak trying to rescue a 28-year-old man being attacked by a crocodile.
The couple were staying at the Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa with Yetter's teenage daughter. After hearing screams coming from the beach at around 6:30 p.m. on June 26, they saw a man they thought was caught in a rip current. Yetter and Bury immediately ran to the beach, where they saw him being attacked by the crocodile. Bury told ABC7 that he threw a life preserver to the victim, who was in too much shock to take it while being dragged out to sea. Bury and Yetter then got on a kayak without oars to try to help. ABC7 reports the tragic ending:
"He went down, and then, at that point, he stayed down," Bury recalled. "So I was over top of him, but the water was so murky, and you couldn't even see a foot down. So by the time I got to him, it was unfortunately too late."
"The crocodile had him by the thigh, and he would turn, and the size of this crocodile, I mean, his head was as long as my torso, his tail thicker than my legs. He was just turning him, taking him under," Yetter said.
The body of the 28-year-old victim was recovered on Saturday morning.
There is an image of the 12-foot crocodile, which was captured by wildlife officials, in the ABC7 report:
The Mexican Navy found the body of the victim, who has now been identified as Irving Mauricio of Mexico City, near the Estero Boca Negra estuary. It's unfortunately all too common to overlook the victim amid the details of rare and sensational animal attacks, which is why I try to put a face to the victims in this series. Irving's mother, Claudia Mauricio, wrote a moving message to her son, finishing with: "I will love you forever my boy. You'll live in my heart, always."
The attack occurred on the same beach where two men from Colorado were attacked by a crocodile in 2022. After one of those men was injured during a night swim in the ocean, the other man got in the water to help him. The AP reported that both men sustained bites to their legs, arms, chest, and hands but only required first aid at the scene.
Related: Predator Watch: Bear Attacks California Teen in His Room
On June 28, two days after Irving Mauricio was killed, a 31-year-old woman lost her life when an alligator bit off her arm in a Florida river. She had been hiking at Little Big Eco State Forest near Orlando with her best friend and her boyfriend before they got into the Econlockhatchee River. Grant Eller, lieutenant with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the woman was only kneeling in water three feet deep when she was attacked. NBC News reports on the truly horrific aftermath:
The boyfriend was still “trying to get her arms away from the alligator’s mouth” when he called 911 for help, Eller said.
In a recording of the 911 call obtained by NBC News, screams and crying can be heard in the background as what sounds like a female on the phone line tells the emergency dispatcher, “Okay, both her arms, both her arms, both her arms are off, like basically.”
The dispatcher tells her that help is on the way and asks “does she still have her arms attached to her.”
“One of them is like, very hanging on (by a) thread, and the other was off,” the female on the phone replies.
When the dispatcher asks again where the other arm is, the female on the phone answers, “Gone.”
Then there is more screaming as the two friends carrying the mortally wounded woman try to get the attention of the arriving rescue workers. The victim, who lived in Orlando, died before rescue workers could get her to a hospital, Eller said. He did not identify the woman because they’re still trying to reach her family, who live out of the state.
To our VIP members in Florida (or anywhere else): Please share any encounters you've had with crocodiles or alligators in the comments.
