It’s not unusual to encounter a crocodile in this area, but what shocked them was that there was a human arm in the animal’s teeth. “The biologist noticed a medium-sized rat with a human arm in the ferocious alligator’s mouth,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told Newsweek .

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John C. and Mariana Jones is a protected nature preserve of more than 16,600 acres located in Martin and Palm Beach counties. It’s a popular destination for camping, fishing and hiking and is located just over 10km west of Jupiter, a small seaside resort.

“The biologist called law enforcement and they spent all day looking for the crocodile. When night fell, they found the remains of the human arm,” said Mr. William Snyder .

Investigators from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office were called to the reserve on Thursday, March 10. Detectives searched and discovered what appeared to be part of a human leg lying on the canal bank.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), there are approximately 1.3 million alligators in the state.

“We have found another part of the victim’s body and are waiting for a medical examination,” Mr. William added.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), there are approximately 1.3 million alligators in the state. Data shows that from 1948 to 2021, 442 unprovoked bites occurred in the state, with 26 of them resulting in human deaths.

Authorities are currently treating this incident as a murder. Mr William said: “It is very likely that it was a murder, and we are treating it as a murder. We now know a bit about the victim. He was neither camping nor fishing. Therefore, we are leaning towards the hypothesis that the victim was murdered by someone and dumped in this area.”

The reserve has been closed since March 10 to facilitate the investigation. Sniffer dogs were also involved in searching for clues on the ground, while diving teams searched underwater.

The police’s task now is to find the victim’s entire body to determine the cause of death.