FUN LOVING SOUL. BACK TO YOU. ALL RIGHT. NOW, WHAT HAPPENED SUNDAY IS A SOMBER REMINDER TO US ALL ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING AWARE OF OUR SURROUNDINGS WHEN IN NATURE. AND HERE’S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHY A HIKER SHARED THIS VIDEO WITH US. WATCH HOW QUICKLY THAT ALLIGATOR DISAPPEARS GOING UNDER THE WATER. WESH TWO PATTRIK PEREZ CONTINUES OUR TEAM COVERAGE LIVE FROM THE BAR STREET TRAILHEAD AT LITTLE BIG ECON STATE FOREST IN SEMINOLE COUNTY. PATRICK. AND THIS TRAIL REMAINS CLOSED TONIGHT. YOU CAN SEE THE GATE THEY PUT UP AS WELL AS THE SIGN. I SPOKE WITH THAT HIKER WHO SHARED THAT VIDEO WITH US. HE COMES HERE OFTEN. WHAT HE REALLY ENJOYS IS SEEING ALL THE WILDLIFE OUT HERE LIKE OTTERS, BOARS, AND OF COURSE, THOSE ALLIGATORS. UNTIL YOU CAN’T SEE THEM ANYMORE. THIS VIDEO, TAKEN NEAR THE BAR STREET TRAILHEAD IN THE LITTLE BIG ECON STATE FOREST IN SEMINOLE COUNTY, IS A GOOD REMINDER WHY WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE CAUTIOUS AROUND BODIES OF WATER. WELL, IT’S STARTLING, BUT IT SHOULD BRING YOU INTO REALIZATION. WATCH AGAIN AS THIS LARGE ALLIGATOR SUBMERGES ITSELF, ALMOST COMPLETELY DISAPPEARING IN THE MURKY WATER. AS HARRY AUSTIN APPROACHED IT. SO IF YOU’RE WALKING ALONG THAT BANK WITH YOUR DOG, OR YOU WANT TO JUST STEP IN, YOU MISTAKE THAT FOR A LOG. AND I HAVEN’T NOTICED IT AT ALL. AUSTIN SAYS HE’S HIKED THE TRAIL HUNDREDS OF TIMES OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, ENCOUNTERING ALL SORTS OF WILDLIFE, INCLUDING BOARS AND EVEN THIS FAMILY OF OTTERS. SOME DAYS YOU’LL HEAR, QUITE FRANKLY, MORE THE SCARY SOUND EVER AS A GATOR GROWL DURING MATING SEASON, WHERE YOU HEAR THAT COME FROM THE BANK. THE FWC SAYS 31 YEAR OLD BRITTANY CLARK WAS COOLING OFF WITH HER BOYFRIEND AND BEST FRIEND IN ABOUT THREE FEET OF WATER IN THE NEARBY RIVER SUNDAY AFTERNOON, WHEN AN ALLIGATOR ATTACKED HER, AUSTIN SAYS NEWS OF THAT ATTACK WAS SHOCKING AND UPSETTING. I, LIKE A LOT OF OUR FRIENDS, HAVE ALL DOUBLE DIPPED OUR FEET IN THE POOLS ON THE HOT DAYS TO COOL DOWN, AND WE GET VERY COMPLACENT OF THAT WATER BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A PEACEFUL SITUATION. BUT AS MORE PEOPLE HIT THE TRAILS, SPRINGS AND OTHER NATURE SPOTS THIS SUMMER, AUSTIN WARNS YOU SHOULD NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, BE IT IN THE MIDDLE OF A CITY. BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS. PAY ATTENTION AND LOOK AND LISTEN AND JUST BE AWARE. SO THAT WAY YOU CAN HOPEFULLY AVOID SOMETHING BEFORE IT HAPPENS. YEAH. AND RIGHT NOW IT’S UNCLEAR EXACTLY HOW LONG THIS CLOSURE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE. I DID REACH OUT TO THE FLORIDA FOREST SERVICE ASKING THEM ABOUT THE CLOSURE, BUT I HAVE YET TO HEAR BACK. WE’LL KEEP Y
Hiker’s video shows how quickly an alligator can disappear in Florida water near site of deadly attack
Updated: 10:51 PM EDT Jun 30, 2026
A video taken near the Barr Street Trailhead in the Little Big Econ State Forest in Seminole County — where a woman was fatally attacked by an alligator on Sunday — is a good reminder of why people should always be cautious around bodies of water.The video, shared by hiker Harry Austin, shows a large alligator submerging itself and almost completely disappearing in the murky water as Austin approached it. “If you’re walking along that bank with your dog or you want to just step in, you’d mistake that for a log or not even notice it at all,” he said.Austin said he’s hiked the trail hundreds of times over the past five years and encountered all sorts of wildlife, including boars and even a family of otters.”Some days you’ll hear, quite frankly, more of a scary sound ever is a good gator growl during mating season, where you hear that come from the bank,” Austin said.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said 31-year-old Brittany Clark was cooling off with her boyfriend and best friend in about three feet of water in the nearby river Sunday afternoon when an alligator attacked her.Austin said news of the attack was shocking and upsetting.”I, like a lot of our friends, have all dipped our feet in the pools on the hot days to cool down, and we get very complacent of that water because it is such a peaceful situation,” he said. “We lose that awareness of what is around us and what time it is, and it’s just a sad tragedy.”But as more people hit the trails, springs, and other nature spots this summer, Austin warns you should never let your guard down.”No matter where you are, be it in the middle of a city, be it in middle of the woods, pay attention and look and listen and just be aware so that way you can hopefully avoid something before it happens,” he said.The Barr Street Trailhead remains closed until further notice following Sunday’s deadly attack. It is unclear when it will reopen to the public.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —
A video taken near the Barr Street Trailhead in the Little Big Econ State Forest in Seminole County — where a woman was fatally attacked by an alligator on Sunday — is a good reminder of why people should always be cautious around bodies of water.
The video, shared by hiker Harry Austin, shows a large alligator submerging itself and almost completely disappearing in the murky water as Austin approached it.
“If you’re walking along that bank with your dog or you want to just step in, you’d mistake that for a log or not even notice it at all,” he said.
Austin said he’s hiked the trail hundreds of times over the past five years and encountered all sorts of wildlife, including boars and even a family of otters.
“Some days you’ll hear, quite frankly, more of a scary sound ever is a good gator growl during mating season, where you hear that come from the bank,” Austin said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said 31-year-old Brittany Clark was cooling off with her boyfriend and best friend in about three feet of water in the nearby river Sunday afternoon when an alligator attacked her.
Austin said news of the attack was shocking and upsetting.
“I, like a lot of our friends, have all dipped our feet in the pools on the hot days to cool down, and we get very complacent of that water because it is such a peaceful situation,” he said. “We lose that awareness of what is around us and what time it is, and it’s just a sad tragedy.”
But as more people hit the trails, springs, and other nature spots this summer, Austin warns you should never let your guard down.
“No matter where you are, be it in the middle of a city, be it in middle of the woods, pay attention and look and listen and just be aware so that way you can hopefully avoid something before it happens,” he said.
The Barr Street Trailhead remains closed until further notice following Sunday’s deadly attack. It is unclear when it will reopen to the public.