According to the Orlando Sentinel, Mr. Riggins -- already known to police, as they say -- and another man were in Barefoot Bay to commit house burglaries during the night of November 12th-13th.
A sleepless resident called the cops around 2 AM to report that two men, dressed in black, were walking behind houses near Tequesta Drive. The two were spotted minutes later on Royal Palm Boulevard, but fled. With K-9 and helicopter units in hot(ish) pursuit, Mr. Riggins stopped long enough to call his girlfriend to say he was being chased, then dove into a lake just north of Ocean Avenue Way.
Mr. Riggins unwisely disregarded the old diver's maxim "Look before you leap." If he had looked, he might have spotted an 11-foot alligator having a snooze near the shore. Mr. Riggins didn't see the alligator, but the alligator saw him, and did what alligators do.
Mr. Riggins was reported missing by his girlfriend when he failed to come home on November 13th. What was left of him was discovered on the 23rd. He was missing his lower extremities and part of an arm, according to deputies. While recovering the body, the sheriff's dive team were "approached aggressively" by a large gator, which was trapped by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and euthanized. Deputies told the paper, "A forensic examination of the alligator located remains consistent with the injuries to Riggins inside the alligator's stomach."
The man who was with Mr. Riggins on his little escapade has been identified, but is not cooperating with the investigation. If he doesn't talk, the Sheriff has threatened to throw him in the lake.
Note from Ed.: We haven't checked our e-mail yet today, but am all but certain that Agent 17 will have sent us this item, so thanks in advance!
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