A 71-year-old man is feared dead after getting attacked by an alligator in his home flooded by Hurricane Ida.
Timothy Satterlee was attacked by the creature outside his house in Slidell, Louisiana, in the early hours on Monday in front of his horrified wife.
Alligator Tore Satterlee's Arm Off
Satterlee's wife, who has not yet been identified, said she heard splashing early Monday morning and walked outside their home to see the gator attacking her husband.She said she saw the creature tear her husband's arm off and tried to pull her husband up a a series of stairs.
However, seeing the extent of his injuries and her home surrounded by floodwaters with no cell service, she got in her canoe and went to seek help. When she returned to the house with deputies, Satterlee was nowhere to be found but there was no blood found at the scene.
The St. Tammany Parish sheriff's office said there was no foul play suspected but will continue with their investigation. Neighbors told WWL that large alligators are common in the area and are known to approach people because they sometimes feed them.
Satterlee's Body Not Yet Found, Search Underway
Satterlee's remains have not been found. Search crews with a cadaver dog are still looking for his body, St. Tammany Parish sheriff's Capt. Lance Vitter said Thursday.
"They searched until it got dark yesterday, and unfortunately we still haven't located Mr. Satterlee," Vitter said. "There is a high probability that he is deceased, but we can't make that call until we recover the body."
Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday with 150mph, making it the fifth-strongest hurricane to hit the US mainland. The storm caused widespread power outages and wrecked havoc on water systems, leaving 600,000 customers without running water.
At least seven deaths were reported due to the storm in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, before the remnants of the storm moved east, killing at least 43 people after striking New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
