Louisiana faces long road to recovery following Hurricane Ida devastation
Senior correspondent Mike Tobin reports live from Louisiana on "Special Report"
A 12-foot, 500-pound alligator captured and killed by Louisiana officials this week after being suspected of fatally attacking a 71-year-old man in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida was found to have human remains inside its stomach.
Timothy Satterlee has been missing since he was attacked by an alligator on Aug. 30 in floodwaters outside of his home in the New Orleans suburb of Slidell.
After witnessing the attack, his wife was able to pull him onto the steps of their home still alive but when she returned from getting help in a small boat he had disappeared.
Authorities have been searching for Satterlee for two weeks and the alligator was caught and killed by deputies and wildlife officials on Monday near the area where Satterlee went missing.
MISSISSIPPI ALLIGATOR CONTAINED 6000-YEAR-OLD ARTIFACT IN ITS STOMACH
The coroner has yet to determine if the remains belong to Satterlee, FOX 8 in New Orleans reported.
"This is a horrible tragedy and my sincere condolences and sympathy goes to the Satterlee family," St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith said on Monday, according to FOX 8. "I know today's findings does not bring their loved one back, but hopefully this can bring them some sort of closure. I am very proud of the hard, non-stop work, of my deputies and the other agencies who assisted, and I hope their persistence in finding this alligator will help the family with coping with their loss. We will continue to keep them in our prayers."
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Ida had caused widespread flooding and knocked out electricity and phone service in parts of south Louisiana when it came ashore on Aug. 29.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
