LAKELAND, FL — State wildlife officials have identified the woman who was killed by an alligator while canoeing on Lake Kissimmee in central Florida.
Cynthia Diekema, 61, of Davenport, Florida, was killed after the canoe she was riding in with her husband drifted over a large alligator hidden beneath them in roughly 2.5 feet of water, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Maj. Evan Laskowski. The incident occurred at about 4 p.m., wildlife officials said.
“This is not believed to be a predatory incident, but simply a defense incident where they came upon the alligator beneath the water’s edge, and when the canoe struck it, it caused a reaction,” Laskowski said during a news conference May 7 in Tampa, Florida.
The couple headed out on a 14-foot canoe near the mouth of Tiger Creek in Lake Kissimmee, which has the second highest population of alligators in the state with more than 16,000, according to a 2024 census from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It’s second only to Lake Okeechobee.
Diekema was sitting in the bow of the canoe when the alligator thrashed and tipped the boat over, according to Laskowski. The couple was sent into the water.
“She ended up on top of the alligator in the water and was bitten,” Laskowski said. “Her husband attempted to intervene but was unsuccessful.”
Diekema’s body was later spotted by a Polk County Sheriff’s Office helicopter and recovered by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, according to Laskowski.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has launched a full investigation into the incident, said agency executive director Roger Young.
It’s the second time in two months that an alligator has attacked someone in that area. In March, a woman was bitten on the elbow on the same creek, which connects Tiger Lake and Lake Kissimmee.
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Two alligators captured, killed from area
A computer-aided dispatch report obtained by The Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network, from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office showed state wildlife officials reaching out for assistance at 4:05 p.m. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requested a unit and emergency medical personnel for two potential alligator victims.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office also received a call at 3:59 p.m. reporting a “man advised his wife had been killed by an alligator,” according to the dispatch report. Not much other information was immediately available to Polk County sheriff’s deputies.
At 4:35 p.m., the husband reported “he last saw vic[tim] in the gator’s mouth before she disappeared,” according to the dispatch report. Responders at the scene had air support and later brought drones to the area to help search for Diekema.
At 5:04 p.m., Polk County sheriff’s deputies in a helicopter spotted Diekema from the air and reported that the alligator still had her in its mouth.
“The gator actively has the victim,” according to the dispatch report at 5:05 p.m. Moments later, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers recovered Diekema’s body from the water as the alligator slipped back under.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said they contracted a trapper who has captured two alligators in the area off Lake Kissimmee since the attack.
Laskowski said the first alligator was 11 feet, 4 inches long and matched the description of the alligator that attacked the couple. A second alligator measuring 10 to 11 feet in length was also captured and killed.
State wildlife agents working with trappers remained near the scene, watching for alligators in the size range of concern on the afternoon of May 7.
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Keeping safe around alligators
There have been 487 unprovoked alligator bites on people between 1984 and 2024, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Of those, 339 were major bites and 27 were fatal.
The agency says the chances of a Florida resident being seriously injured in an unprovoked alligator attack are one in 3.1 million.
“While alligator attacks resulting in fatalities are extremely rare, this tragedy serves as a somber reminder of the powerful wildlife that share our natural spaces,” Young said at the May 7 news conference. “Be cautious of your surroundings.”
The last fatal attack occurred in 2023 while a woman was walking her dog along the edge of a retention pond in St. Lucie County. The alligator was 10 feet long.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission oversees the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program to help address alligators that may threaten people, pets, or property. Each year, it issues tags to hunters across Florida to remove alligators 4 feet or longer.
Young said the agency increased the allotment for the 2025 statewide alligator hunt by 1,000 tags. Between the hunt and alligator program, up to 15,000 alligators were taken out of the wild in 2023, he said.
“It’s hard to say those numbers correlate,” Young added. “There are going to be alligators in the population in the wild anyway. With alligators in the wild, the potential is always there.”
The agency recommended the following tips for staying safe when out in nature and around alligators:
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Keep a safe distance if you see an alligator.
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Keep pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge. Pets often resemble alligators’ natural prey.
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Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours and without your pet. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn.
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Never feed an alligator. It’s illegal and dangerous.
Contributing: C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Florida wildlife officials identify woman killed in alligator attack
