A South Carolina woman was attacked and killed by an alligator Tuesday while she was walking her dog, according to authorities.

Deputies from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office received a report about a possible alligator attack around 9:30 a.m. near a lagoon bordering a golf course in the Spanish Wells community on Hilton Head Island.

Authorities found an unresponsive 69-year-old woman at the scene, but deputies had trouble retrieving the woman’s body because “an alligator appeared and was guarding the woman,” the sheriff’s office said. 

Responding deputies relocated the alligator and were able to recover the woman’s body.

“Deputies learned that the woman was walking her dog earlier this morning when the attack occurred,” the sheriff’s office said. “It is not clear at this point where she was taken into the water.”

The county coroner will conduct an autopsy.

In August, an 88-year-old woman was killed by an alligator in Beaufort County after the creature emerged from a lagoon by her home to attack the victim.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.