Lake Moultrie is at the head of the Cooper River, which is a very popular dive.
http://www.charlest on.net/news/ 2007/sep/ 17/mans_arm_ salvaged_ alligators_ belly/
Man's arm salvaged from alligator's belly
ANDY PARAS
The Post and Courier
Monday, September 17, 2007
A large alligator attacked a man swimming in Lake
Moultrie Sunday September 16, 2007.
MONCKS CORNER ­ They were feasting on roast pork
and dancing the Macarena while picnicking at Lake
Moultrie on Sunday afternoon when a man in
snorkel gear stumbled through the tree line,
grasping at his left shoulder where his arm used to be.
Blood gushed from between his fingers.
'Call my wife, call my wife,' the man said through a snorkel mask.
Five nurses who were among those at the gathering
quickly laid the man on the ground. They put ice
on his wound, instructed him to take deep breaths
and told him stories to keep him awake.
One of the picknickers, Jerome Bien, traced the
bloody trail through the tree line and to the
shore where he saw a pool of blood in the sand.
About 25 feet out in the water in front of him,
the eyes of a giant alligator stared back. The
victim's arm remained clenched in its jaws.
'He was just smiling at me,' Bien said.
One of the worst alligator attacks in South
Carolina's history had just unfolded, officials said.
At the Short Stay Naval Recreational Park,
members of the Bicol Assocation of Charleston, of
group of Filipino Roman Catholics, halted their
picnic to help save the man's life. Paramedics
showed up 15 minutes after the attack and
stabilized the man until a helicopter could
airlift him to the Medical University of South
Carolina, where he was in critical condition Sunday night.
Department of Natural Resources officers showed
up later and shot the 11-foot, 10-inch gator with
a rifle. Officers cut the 550-pound carnivorous
reptile open and removed the man's whole arm from
its stomach. DNR officers bagged the arm and
placed it in a picnicker's ice cooler and then
rushed it to the hospital with a police escort.
'The arm, surprisingly, was not chewed up like
you would think it would be,' said Bill
Salisbury, Berkeley County Rescue Squad captain.
Officials identified the man as 59-year-old Bill
Hedden of Summerville. Salisbury said doctors
were still trying to decide if the arm could be
reattached. A hospital spokeswoman said medical
laws prohibited her from discussing specifics.
Officials ranked the attack as probably the worst
in the state because there have never been any
confirmed deaths from alligator attacks in South Carolina.
'To my knowledge this is the worst case scenario
we've had in the state,' said Sam Chappelear, DNR regional coordinator
Officials believe Hedden was snorkeling at the
time but no one saw the attack. It's anyone guess
whether he surprised the animal or didn't realize
it was there, Chappelear said.
'Basically until we talk to him, no one knows
exactly what happened,' Chappelear said.
Bien said the man's arm was completely torn off.
'He was bleeding bad,' Bien said. 'His arm was clean off the socket.'
Jo Masauding, one of the nurses who came to
Hedden's aid, said he never lost consciousness even as blood drenched his body.
Salisbury said that before DNR agents arrived at
the scene, they called and asked him to shoot the
alligator, but all he had was a pistol.
A DNR officer showed up later and killed it with
a rifle from about 25 feet away while it was still in the water.
Chappelear said the alligator is close to record
size for South Carolina. There are some 13-footers, but sightings are rare.
'You hardly ever see one that big,' Chappelear said.
Tom Boyd, director of the park, said this was the
first alligator attack they've ever had. About
200,000 people visit the park each year.