LARGO, Fla. — Police are still investigating after a man died searching for Frisbees in a lake adjacent to a disc golf course.

What You Need To Know

  • 47-year-old man found dead at Taylor Lake; his name hasn't been released

  • He was said to be looking for Frisbees that are used in disc golf

  • There are park signs warning of gators in the water

The unidentified 47-year-old man was looking for Frisbees and other discs in the water and "a gator was involved," the Largo Police Department said in an email Tuesday. Police were notified at about 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Police said gator trappers responded to Taylor Lake, a part of the 153-acre (62-hectare) John S. Taylor Park in Largo.

Largo Police said that two alligators (10 foot and 8 foot) were captured Tuesday night, and that initial necropsies revealed no evidence of their involvement with the deceased. They said efforts are underway to monitor for additional alligators in the area.

The park is frequented often by people who play disc golf, including 33-year-old Andrew King.

He said he's seen people go into the lake to retrieve Frisbees.

"In the community, they're called 'squids' and they go out and look for discs in the water,” King said.

Our camera spotted a small gator in the water, and a woman who lives near the lake gave us video of a much bigger gator that she spotted.

Despite signs warnings of gators, the man went into the water, according to Largo police.

King said the retrieved Frisbees can sometimes result in payments of a few dollars. He showed Spectrum Bay News 9 how people write their name and number on the discs, hoping they will get contacted if one of theirs is found.

King said he may have met the man who was killed.

“I've met him once or twice just playing out here and I’d see him out in the water,” he said. “He's a brave guy or was a brave guy and just very dangerous. To lose a life is very precious and just very hard to hear the news." 

The park's website notes that patrons can “discover the sport of disc golf on a course set in the natural beauty of this park.”

The course is set along the lake, which has no-swimming signs posted along it.

"These discs are expensive to begin with but it's not worth risking your life to, for a leisure sport," King said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.