Fayette County

Possible alligator sighting causes concerns

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — There are new concerns that an alligator is lurking in one metro community.

Lauren Jacques, who grew up in Peachtree City, said she never gave possibility of alligators lurking nearby a thought -- until now.

"It's kind of scary, actually,” Jacques said. “Mostly because I'm bringing my children, and there's a playground here. It's a little scary that there might be something large enough to grab a child."

A recent photo is what has some people worried.

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The person who took it along Lake Peachtree believed it might be an alligator.

The photo follows the April sighting of a gator on Flat Creek and the recent tragic attack at Walt Disney World.

"Whenever you have news stories like that, there's always a heightened awareness. And that's part of it,” Mayor of Peachtree City Vanessa Fleisch said.

Fleisch says the city called its gator trapper, who, after searching the shoreline by boat, found nothing. Back at the park, however, moms like Jacques are still concerned.

"I think they should definitely take care of it,” Jacques said.

“Mostly to figure out if it's something real or if it's just a log and people are taking pictures of something that's not actually there. But just to figure it out, because if there's one potentially there could be more," Jacques said.

Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen went out on the lake Tuesday for a look around.

The trapper didn't spot a gator, and neither did Petersen.

Petersen also looked for what the trapper did find. %

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"He doesn't think there's any evidence of having a gator there because there's also an over abundance of beavers,” Fleisch said. “And alligators prey on beavers."

But what about the picture? Some say it looks like an alligator, others like Kim Miller say it's hard to tell.

"It was very hard to tell,” Miller said. “And a lot of posts said it was just a log."

"What do you think?" Petersen asked.

"I think it's just a log," Miller replied.