A man who went hunting for flying discs in an alligator-filled lake in Florida has been found dismembered.
The body of Sean Thomas McGuinness, 47, was discovered in Taylor Lake in Largo, where he often went in to search for objects fallen from a nearby disc golf course, police told Spectrum Bay News 9.
‘When Sean McGuinness was recovered last week, he was observed to be missing three limbs,’ Largo police spokeswoman Megan Santo told the TV station.
His remains were found on May 31, and the final medical examiner’s report is expected in late July, according to Santo.
McGuinness went chest-deep into the lake two weeks before the incident and knew it was filled with alligators, Derek Erskin, 37, who visited the site often, told the station.
‘He was fully aware,’ said Erskin. ‘He seemed to be pretty comfortable with what he was doing.’
A park ranger had attempted to get McGuinness trespassed from the lake. When rangers responded on April 11 and April 19, they were not able to find him, the station reported based on public records.
‘That was the last disc he ever tried to get,’ Erskin said. ‘Hopefully he’s at peace now with the lord and that’s the best we can wish for.’
McGuinness made a living from finding and reselling flying discs and Frisbees, according to his best friend of eight years, Ryan McKinley, 47.
‘He didn’t ask for handouts – he worked,’ McKinley told Spectrum Bay News 9. ‘He made his living no matter what he had to do and I respected him for that.’
McGuinness, who had no family members in Florida, suffered from a tumor in his pituitary gland, which McKinley said forced him to ask his friend to leave his home in January.
‘It started causing problems with my family and that’s why I had to ask him to leave,’ McKinley said. ‘It still kills me to this day, because I do blame myself a little bit.’
McKinley added that he believes McGuinness would have been upset to know that Florida Fish and Wildlife trappers euthanized two big alligators in the lake after his death.
‘He would’ve been upset that they’re killing the gators,’ McKinley said. ‘He doesn’t want that.’
