UPDATE: GATOR VEHICLE FELL IN CANAL, BUT NO ONE REPORTED MAN MISSING FOR DAY.
Police, Fire Rescue Remain On The Scene Mid-Day In Community On Lyons North of Clint Moore Road.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
COMPLETELY UPDATED AT 4:09 p.m.
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A grounds worker in the West Boca Raton community of “Boca Bridges” was found dead early Wednesday in a canal behind a home in the “Chianti Classico” subdivision of the community of million dollar houses.
Initial reports suggested that the man had been mauled by an alligator. But as police investigated, BocaNewsNow.com has learned that the “gator” was more likely than not the “John Deere Gator ATV” he was apparently driving — or standing near — at the time he ended up in a canal. It is believed that the ATV pushed or pulled the man into the canal and he became trapped under it, unable to escape.
The incident occurred on Monday. The landscaper, however, was not reported missing by his coworkers until Tuesday, even though the ATV was seen in the canal shortly after it, and the man, ended up in the water. Wednesday morning, according to investigators, a body believed to be the missing man was found — two days after he vanished.
“A John Deere Gator was located in a canal,” said a source with knowledge of the investigation. “Workers pulled the Gator out of the water with the employee nowhere to be found. It appears the Gator may have rolled backwards over the employee prior to the others arriving. Items in the Gator are consistent with the decedent being the employee.”
The identity of the man has not yet been released by investigators.
