BREAKING: Alligator spotted in Secaucus days before kids’ fishing event

SECAUCUS — A local DPW worker spotted a two and a half foot alligator in the town’s Duck Pond on Wednesday, May 3, Mayor Michael Gonnelli confirmed today. The Duck Pond has no fence around it and children were able to go right up to the edge of the water when competing in the town’s actual “Fishing Derby” on Saturday, May 6.
Gonneli was questioned by the Reporter after a sign was spotted at the event on that day warning people that the animal was spotted.
When asked why the public wasn’t notified beyond that, Gonnelli, a former public works supervisor, said, “People should always be concerned with an alligator like that, but we haven’t seen it again. But it could be under water; it could be in a million places, or it could’ve died.”
Gonnelli said that he and DPW workers searched for the reptile on a boat for two days prior to the Fishing Derby, but did not locate it.
“It’s a decent sized gator, but it’s not a monster sized gator,” he said, in response to any fears parents may have about the creature. “But it will grow. It will definitely grow if it’s in there. We’re hoping that it’s gone. We hope it just boils over. We’re just waiting to see what happens.”
Last year, an alligator at Disney World suddenly walked onto a beach, dragged a two-year-old boy underwater, and killed him, in a much publicized incident. The boy’s father tried to save him but could not.