Autopsy: Naked man found eaten by alligator was already dead from a meth overdose

A Florida man whose body was found partially eaten by an alligator in Fort Meade, Florida, on June 27 actually died of a methamphetamine overdose before the alligator got to him. After the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission captured the gator, they were forced to kill it and perform a necropsy. According to Fox News, that procedure revealed a hand and a foot belonging to the victim, identified as 45-year-old Michael Glenn Ford II, inside the alligator’s stomach.

Turns out though, getting eaten by the gator wasn’t the cause of Ford’s demise. According to Medical Examiner Stephen Nelson’s autopsy report dated November 27, the victim’s injuries and amputations lacked the “sufficient associated bleeding to suggest they were made while alive.”

“It is my opinion that Michael Glenn Ford II died as a result of a methamphetamine intoxication,” District Medical Examiner Stephen Nelson wrote in an autopsy report obtained by NBC News on Thursday. “The manner of death is accident.” ~ NBC News

Ford’s remains were discovered in a canal on private property in Polk County, halfway between Tampa and Orlando, according to ABC News. At the time of that discovery, officials theorized that Ford may have drowned before being eaten by the gator. Still puzzling investigators though, is the fact that “Ford was nude when he was discovered, but his clothes were not found at his nearby car or at the scene.”

Ford hadn’t been seen by family or friends for about four days leading up to his partially eaten body being found in that canal.

Also see:
Cops issue ‘Meth-Gators’ warning: Flushing drugs in toilet could create meth alligators