LAKE WALES, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released a 56 page report detailing a deadly alligator attack at Lake Kissimmee State Park in Polk County.
The attack happened on May 6, 2025.
WATCH: FWC releases report detailing deadly alligator attack at Lake Kissimmee State Park
The couple involved launched an 11-foot canoe and traveled along Tiger Creek and then toward Lake Kissimmee prior to the incident.
"Honestly, probably in 20 years, this is probably the first time I’ve heard of a gator tipping over a canoe," said Brandon Fisher with Gatorland in Orlando.
Brandon Fisher is an alligator expert at Gatorland. He calls the incident a "freak accident."
He believes several environmental factors contributed to the attack.
"Water levels are really low. They were canoeing in two feet of water and a gator that size at 11.5 feet, and let me estimate the weight probably somewhere between 500 to 700 pounds, maybe a little less, maybe a little more," he said.
Fisher said May is also a key month for alligator breeding.
The report says just before the attack, the husband and wife observed numerous alligators while canoeing.
According to the report, 61-year-old Cynthia Deikema said "we're about to go right over the top of one" as the canoe traveled on top of the gator. The alligator tipped the canoe over, causing it to capsize.
Her husband tried to free her numerous times from the alligator's mouth, but he could not. He lost his phone during the ordeal, then bailed as much water as he could from the canoe. He left to go get help. FWC officers later located her body.
"Such a powerful force, alligators have one of the strongest bites of any animal in the entire animal kingdom," said Fisher.
Trappers located an 11.4 foot male gator and euthanized it.
The state began tracking gator attacks in 1948. As of the end of 2025, there have been 498 unprovoked bites from wild alligators, which resulted in 31 deaths.
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