A suspect in a string of burglaries was reported missing last month. Brevard County, Florida Sheriff Major Todd Goodyear told the media that Matthew Riggins, 22, told his girlfriend he was going to Barefoot Bay to commit burglaries. The police received calls about suspicious men walking around homes in the area. The police responded but did not find anyone.
10 days later though, Riggins was found in a nearby lake. Well, parts of him were found.
"He hid in the wrong place," local resident Laura Farris told local news.
His body was found with the makings of a gator attack. The Sheriff's Office Dive Team came across the perpetrator during their search: An 11 foot alligator. The reptile had to be euthanized. Inside the gator's stomach they found remains from Riggins.
"He probably went into the lake to hide from the officers and the dog, and came across that gator," Goodyear said. "To hide somewhere to try and get away, and then meeting up with an animal like that, no, I've never had that happen before."
"I would say it's poetic justice, you want to sit there and steal from people," Barefoot Bay resident Chuck Stokes said.