WASHINGTON TIMES (DC) 16 March 05 300-pound alligator blamed in killing man
Lakeland, Florida (UPI): A 56-year-old Florida man found dead in a pond was killed by a 300-pound alligator, a county medical examiner has ruled.
Don Owen of Bartow was found floating in the South Lakeland pond last Saturday. He suffered injuries in the alligator attack and subsequently drowned, the Lakeland Ledger reported Wednesday.
Authorities captured the reptile and destroyed it Monday.
It was not clear what Owen was doing at the pond and how the alligator got him. He was last seen March 9 in a disoriented state, his family told the sheriff's office.
Owen asked a passer-by to make a telephone call to an unidentified friend for him that morning, but as the man placed the call, Owen got back in his vehicle and drove off, said his brother, the Rev. Eddie Owen of First Christian Church in Bartow. That evening he was seen at a convenience store near the pond.
Owen was a truck driver for McDonald Construction Corp., and a devoted family man, his brother said.
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050316-115431-6455r.htm

THE TIMES (London, UK) 16 March 05 Truck driver eaten alive by alligator (Simon Freeman)
A truck driver was killed and partially eaten by a 9ft alligator which had overcome its natural fear of humans after being fed tidbits by locals in Florida.
Don Owen's body was found in wetlands about 12 miles from his home in Bartow, Polk County, by fishermen on Saturday. His forearm was found in the alligator's stomach when it was trapped and killed two days later.
Although there are more than 1.5 million adult alligators in Florida, which is home to 16 million people, fatal attacks are rare and the reptiles tend to avoid human contact. Mr Owen, 56, is the 16th victim since the state began collecting records in 1948.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) has spoken to people who live around the lake and admitted petting the alligator and feeding it sandwiches.
Gary Morse, a spokesman for the commission, said: "Some people think there is no harm in throwing an occasional sandwich to a large reptile but the practice of feeding gators is dangerous, unlawful and contributes to attacks on humans.
"Feeding an alligator will cause it to lose its fear of people and become a problem."
State police today said that Mr Owen was last seen at a convenience store on Wednesday. He appeared disorientated and asked a passer-by if he could make a phone call for him, before getting back into his car and driving away.
He was reported missing the following day when he failed to arrive for work. On Saturday the remains of his body were found in Six Pound Pond. A post-mortem examination determined that he had been killed by the 8ft 9in (2.67m) alligator and trackers were sent out into the lakes to trap the creature.
Mr Morse explained that once an alligator has killed it must be destroyed. He said: "Moving a problem alligator to another area is usually not an option. It’s risky business and can create more problems than it solves. Once a gator has lost its fear of people, it doesn’t matter where you put it, it is still not afraid of people and it continues to pose a threat."
In the last decade, encroaching human development into areas occupied by wildlife has added to the conflict between man and alligator, causing the number of calls to the FWCC to rocket.
Since the nuisance alligator program began 23 years ago, it has received 240,411 complaints resulting in 100,365 alligators being culled.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1527867,00.html