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Police identify man whose remains were found inside alligator

 
Richard Zachary Taylor [Lakeland Police Department]
Richard Zachary Taylor [Lakeland Police Department]
Published June 10, 2016

The man whose remains were found inside the stomach of an alligator in Polk County was identified today by Lakeland Police as Richard Zachary Taylor.

Taylor, 72, had no permanent address, according to the police.

Dispatchers received a 911 call around 1:40 p.m. Tuesday that an alligator had a body in its mouth at the shoreline of Lake Hunter Drive and Cresap Street. When officers arrived at the scene, they saw the 9-foot gator with what appeared to be a man's body in its mouth.

The alligator let go of the body, then swam off. Officers were able to remove the body from the water.

Trappers were able to capture what they believed to be the same alligator on Wednesday.