A private South Carolina community pledged to keep residents safe from alligators. Weeks later, 69-year-old Holly Jenkins was killed — and her family says the community did almost nothing to protect her.
Key facts
Holly Jenkins, 69, was killed on July 4, 2023, by a 10-foot alligator while walking her dog in the Spanish Wells community on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit. A confidential settlement was approved May 5, 2026.
Holly Jenkins told her husband and son she was taking the dog for a walk. She never came back.
When the two men grew worried, they searched the neighborhood. Jenkins’ son then heard splashing near a pond close to the family home. He approached on his golf cart — and found his mother face-down in the water, a massive alligator swimming nearby.
He tried to distract the animal until authorities arrived. It was too late. Jenkins, 69, was pronounced dead at the scene on July 4, 2023. When wildlife officials later killed the 10-foot alligator, a necropsy revealed her foot and hand inside its stomach.
“No effort had been made to identify ‘nuisance’ alligators that should have been removed.”
Now, more than two years after her death, the private community where Jenkins lived — Spanish Wells on Hilton Head Island — has agreed to a confidential financial settlement after her family sued, accusing it of fatal negligence.
Court records show the settlement was approved on May 5, 2026. The order states the settlement was made solely to “buy peace from litigation,” without admitting liability.
The family’s lawsuit charged that Spanish Wells Club, its property owners association, and the community’s management company had all been aware that alligator attacks in the Hilton Head area were “on the rise” before Jenkins was killed — yet did almost nothing meaningful in response.
Specifically, the complaint alleged the community had publicly vowed to provide “on-site alligator risk management services” to residents, making residents believe the danger was being managed. In reality, according to the filing, the ponds and lagoons had not been properly monitored, no effort had been made to identify or remove dangerous “nuisance” alligators, and the community “woefully underestimated” the number of alligator removal permits it needed.
“Residents reasonably relied upon defendants’ representations and assurances that they were managing and reducing the risks posed by alligators,” the complaint said.
The Spanish Wells Club and its management company, G.W. Services, did not respond to requests for comment from media outlets covering the case.
An obituary for Jenkins, published by The Island Packet, remembered her as a “devoted wife, loving mother and grandmother, a dear sister, a loyal friend, and a proud dog mom.”
Her dog was found in the backyard, still wearing its leash, when her family first began searching for her.
