Rare White Alligator Stolen, 43 Gators Killed, In Burglary & Arson At Florida Sanctuary
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BUSHNELL (CBSMiami) -- Florida authorities are looking for a burglar and arsonist who stole a rare white alligator and then set fire to a shed filled with other reptiles at an animal sanctuary, killing all of them.
Forty-three reptiles died in the fire in Sumter County, Florida where Robbie Keszys kept his alligators and crocodiles. His extremely rare Leucistic alligator, white with blue eyes named "Snowball," was also missing.
The white alligator with dark markings was last seen in the shed at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, the same day of the fire but was nowhere to be found when detectives searched the wreckage.
Keszy says he was frantic when he heard his son yelling about the fire.
"It was my animals, I had to get them out," he said. "Dad, dad, the rooms on fire. I dropped everything and ran out the door and you could just see smoke. And my wife called 911 and I ran up here and I tried to grab the door and open up at the flames were coming out the sides."
Keszy says investigators determined someone broke into the pen Friday night, used accelerant to set the place on fire and then took Snowball.
Keszy is one of the hosts of the Discovery Channel's "Swamp Brothers."
He says he used his show and "Snowball" to educate.
He said the rare alligator was worth about $100,000 but says the price tag doesn't compare to the joy "Snowball" brought to children.
"When you can make a kid feel like that and forget all about their problems for 10 minutes, and that's what Snowball did. And that's why we want him back. And we want to continue doing that with him," he said.
The Swamp Brothers run Animal Crossings of Florida, Inc., a reptile sanctuary, based west of Interstate 75 in Bushnell.
If you've seen Snowball or have information about the case, call Sumter County Sheriff's Office Det. Chris Merritt at 352-793-2621 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.
There is a reward for information leading to an arrest.