Alligator Reportedly Spotted Twice In Mon River
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Police are investigating reports of an alligator in the Monongahela River near Belle Vernon.
Southwest Regional Police Chief John Hartman says at least two people have reported spotting the alligator.
The first report came Tuesday night just before midnight, a man reported seeing the six-to-seven foot long alligator swimming upstream.
"A local resident was down here at the wharf and saw that he believed was a log going against the current upstream. He shined a spotlight on what he believed was a log and lit up what he identified as an alligator. He said he's been a fisherman in these waters all his life, he knows what he saw. It was not a fish, it was an alligator," said Chief Hartman. "The head of the gator was out of the water about seven inches and he saw the eyes shining, two eyes looking at him."
Another person reported spotting something in the water Monday afternoon.
"I saw this small duck swimming across just by itself," Josh Adams, of Brownsville, said. "And I thought that was odd that it was by itself, and I was standing there watching it for a few seconds, and then boom, it went underwater pretty fast like it got pulled under the water and didn't come back up at all."
Officers say since two separate people have reported the sighting, they think it may be legitimate.
Southwest Regional Police Department is working with the Coast Guard, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pittsburgh Zoo.
The Coast Guard is en-route to the area of the reported sighting.
So far, the supposed gator has not resurfaced.
Police are asking residents to keep their eyes peeled and call with any possible sightings.
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