An elderly Louisiana man was apparently attacked and killed by an alligator as he was walking in floodwaters following Hurricane Ida.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said Monday it was investigating an apparent alligator attack, which occurred around midday Monday.

Deputies said the attack happened in the Avery Estates subdivision off U.S. 90 in Slidell. A resident alerted deputies by phone.

“She told deputies she was inside her residence when she heard a commotion and went outside to see a large alligator attacking her husband,” a sheriff’s office spokesman said. “She immediately ran to her husband’s aide in an attempt to stop the attack.

Deputies said once the attack stopped she dragged her husband out of the water and went to get first-aid supplies.

“When she returned and realized the severity of his injuries, she immediately got into her pirogue and went to higher ground, which was approximately a mile away, to get help,” deputies said. “When she returned her husband was no longer lying on the steps.”

Presumably, the alligator had returned and took the man back into the water.

Deputies used high water vehicles and flatboats in an attempt to locate the victim, but as of late Monday, all attempts have been futile.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith warned residents to be extra vigilant with walking in flooded areas as wildlife has been displaced as well during this storm and alligators and other animals may have moved closer into neighborhoods.