A 61-year-old woman lost her life after being attacked by an alligator while canoeing with her husband on Lake Kissimmee, Florida, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
Cynthia Diekema, from Davenport, Florida, was paddling with her husband in a 14-foot canoe in about two and a half feet of water near the mouth of Tiger Creek as it enters Lake Kissimmee. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), their canoe passed over a large alligator.
The incident occurred around 4:05 p.m. when the alligator reacted violently, startled by the canoe, causing the vessel to capsize. Both Diekema and her husband fell into the water, and Diekema landed on top of the alligator.
The alligator immediately bit Diekema. Despite her husband intervening, he could not free her from the alligator’s hold. A sheriff’s office radio transmission obtained by CBS affiliate WKMG documented the frantic moments after the attack.
“Gator grabbed her out of the canoe,” a sheriff’s deputy can be heard saying in the transmission. “He tried to fight the gator off. We’re at the last place he saw her. He left the paddle here where he last saw her at.”
Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies and marine units responded to the scene, assisting in the search for Diekema. Her body was later located by a sheriff’s office helicopter and recovered by FWC officers on a vessel.
FWC Major Evan Laskowski informed reporters that nuisance alligator trappers were sent to the area Tuesday night. They captured two large alligators, including an 11-foot, 4-inch specimen matching the description of the alligator involved in the incident. A second alligator, about 10 to 11 feet long, was also captured Wednesday morning.
FWC Officer Bradley Johnson stated that investigators do not believe this was a predatory attack. Johnson noted that officials think it was “a defensive incident where they came upon the alligator beneath the water’s edge, and when the canoe struck it, it caused a reaction,” according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Roger Young, executive director of the FWC, expressed condolences to Diekema’s friends and family. Young mentioned that while fatal alligator attacks are extremely rare, this incident highlights the presence of powerful wildlife in Florida’s natural areas.
Lake Kissimmee, which covers roughly 35,000 acres in Polk and Osceola counties in central Florida, is known for its high concentration of alligators. The FWC estimates there are approximately 1.3 million alligators in Florida’s 67 counties.
This was the second alligator incident in the area in recent months. In March, a woman was bitten on the arm by an alligator while kayaking in a group, though that attack was not fatal.
Since 1948, there have been 487 unprovoked alligator bites on humans in Florida, with 339 classified as major bites and 27 resulting in fatalities.
An analysis by experts at the University of Florida indicated that over 90% of recorded alligator incidents involved human inattention or risk-taking before the attack.
The incident occurred during alligator mating season, typically from April through June. While the FWC noted that alligators are not necessarily more aggressive during this period, they are more active, increasing the likelihood of human-alligator encounters.
Young mentioned that the FWC assesses the alligator population annually and recently increased the allotment for the statewide alligator hunt by 1,000 tags. Combined with their Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, the FWC removed up to 15,000 alligators from the wild over the past year.
The FWC advises people to be aware of the possible presence of alligators near fresh or brackish water. They recommend swimming only in designated areas during daylight, closely supervising children near water, and never feeding or enticing alligators.
If someone encounters an alligator they believe threatens people, pets, or property, the FWC encourages them to call their Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 1-866-FWC-GATOR (392-4286). The program dispatches contracted nuisance alligator trappers to remove alligators four feet in length or greater that are believed to pose a threat.
Residents in Diekema’s Citrus Ridge 55-plus community expressed shock and sadness over the incident. “Such a sweet lady. Makes you realize none of us are promised tomorrow,” said neighbor Lynda Miller, describing Diekema as a kind and friendly presence in the community.
