Victim of Florida alligator attack remembered as kind, generous

Steven Hamilton, a 71-year-old man whom people in the area said regularly fished at a retention pond near Florida's Lake Apopka, was killed Friday in an alligator attack.



Hamilton was well-known to those who frequented the pond in Dr. Bradford Memorial Park in Winter Garden, Florida, which is outside of Orlando.


 Every time it was a, 'Hey Steve, how's it going?' You know, just checking in. He was out there almost every single night fishing,  said Connor Kelley.

Jason Handley, another regular at the park, said,  He was a regular that comes out here and fishes. 

 My stomach dropped 

Handley arrived at the park Friday shortly after hearing about the attack but did not initially know who was involved. Kelley was also there and recalled the moment he learned it was Hamilton.

 As I was leaving to go home, I heard someone say apparently it was an older gentleman who fishes there every night, and just immediately my stomach dropped because I was so worried it was Steve, and it turns out it unfortunately was,  Kelley said.

Kelley, who had fished with Hamilton a few times, described him as kind and generous.

 It just shows that he was a very kind man. Very relatable. I heard from someone else in town that he had helped her kids with fishing down there a few times,  Kelley said.

Winter Garden police said Hamilton was fishing when the attack occurred. He did not survive.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials said a trapper later removed a nearly 12-foot alligator from the water. Handley witnessed the capture.

 Yeah, he's got him. He's got him,  Handley said in a video he took of the capture Friday.

 They are hunting 

Just a few minutes from the pond, Emily Porto, who lives along Lake Apopka, saw a news helicopter overhead Friday and immediately feared the worst.

 I went on live, and it was there, and I said, 'Oh no. That can't be happening.' And I warned them,  Porto said.

Porto said she has been calling FWC after her 8-year-old Samoyed dog, Stormi, was killed by an alligator i
#wisn   #crimewatchmilwaukee