Missing Spokane Valley alligator still unaccounted for

Day two of the search for a missing 3-foot alligator in Spokane Valley has come up empty.

The manager of the University Mobile Home Park at 9518 E. Fourth Avenue called 911 Wedneday when she learned that one of the residents was keeping an alligator in a covered backyard pond. But the animal and the presumed owner were gone and now the man is saying he has never owned an alligator, said Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service director Nancy Hill.

Witnesses, however, told animal control officers that they saw the animal and one provided a photo of it, Hill said. It appears to be a juvenile American alligator, she said.

“It was definitely there,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll be talking to the person again. I just really think it would be best if he would say where it went.”

The area around the mobile home park has been searched. Hill said if the animal is wandering loose she’s not sure how long the alligator can survive Spokane’s chilly nighttime temperatures and cold water.

“There’s a reason we don’t have alligators in this area,” she said.