KISSIMMEE, FL, Nov. 5, 2026 — A Halloween call in a tourist-heavy Osceola County plaza ended with a deputy, a duct-taped snout and a short ride in a Sheriff's Office patrol car — then a release back into a lake.
According to a news release and Facebook post from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, summarized by FOX 35 Orlando and CBS12, deputies responded the afternoon of Oct. 31 to a report of an alligator walking around the parking lot near Celebration Hardware Company.
When they arrived, people were standing nearby and the gator was caught between a fence, the outlets reported, citing the Sheriff's Office.
Body-cam catch and release
Body-worn camera video released by the Sheriff's Office shows Deputy Nicholas Pippin pulling the alligator from the fence and taping its snout shut. The office said Pippin has "prior alligator experience," CBS12 reported.
After the animal was secured, a crowd gathered for photos with the deputy and the gator — the "full Florida experience," FOX 35 wrote. The Sheriff's Office joked that "the glamour and excitement ended, and it was back to the water – no trip to the slammer," according to a Yahoo/National Enquirer write-up that also attributed the line to the office.
Pippin then loaded the alligator into the back seat of his patrol vehicle and drove it to Lake Cecile, where it was untaped and released, FOX 35 reported from the news release.
Safety reminder
The Sheriff's Office reminded the public not to approach, feed or handle alligators and to keep children and pets away from the water's edge, CBS12 reported. Enjoy Florida wildlife from a safe distance, the office said.
Osceola County includes Kissimmee and sits next to major theme-park tourism corridors. Alligators are common in Central Florida ponds and canals year-round; FWC and local agencies routinely warn against feeding or cornering them.
Why calls like this happen
Central Florida's mix of canals, retention ponds and tourist plazas means alligators and people share space more often than visitors expect. FWC's public guidance is consistent with what the Sheriff's Office told CBS12: never approach, feed or handle an alligator, and keep kids and pets back from the waterline. Feeding alligators is illegal in Florida and teaches them to associate people with food.
Deputies are not wildlife trappers by default, but agencies in tourist counties sometimes handle nuisance animals when a gator is stuck in fencing or walking a busy lot and a licensed trapper is not immediately on scene. Pippin's "prior alligator experience," as the Sheriff's Office described it to CBS12, is why the office highlighted him in the release.
Halloween afternoon added another wrinkle: more foot traffic in plaza parking lots, costumes and kids. The Sheriff's Office did not say anyone was injured. The gator was released alive at Lake Cecile rather than euthanized, which matches standard practice when an animal can be relocated safely.
What the video shows, carefully
FOX 35 and CBS12 both describe body-camera video from the Sheriff's Office. Viewers see Pippin working the animal out of a fence, controlling the head and taping the snout — a common field method to keep a handler from being bitten while moving a mid-size gator. Outlets described the animal as roughly in the 4-to-5-foot range in secondary write-ups; Launchpad is not independently measuring it from stills.
After the snout was taped, onlookers moved in for photos. That is a tourist moment and a safety risk if someone gets too close. The office's own reminder after the fact — stay back, don't handle wildlife — is the part visitors should keep.
Pippin then used the patrol car as a short transport to Lake Cecile. FOX 35's headline focused on that detail because it is unusual for readers outside Florida; for deputies in gator country, a controlled move to water is often the end of the call.
If you see a gator in a parking lot
- Keep your distance and keep pets leashed.
- Call non-emergency dispatch or, if people are in immediate danger, 911.
- Do not try to herd, feed or photograph from arm's length.
- Wait for deputies or a licensed nuisance-alligator trapper.
Osceola County sits beside Walt Disney World and other major attractions; Celebration and Kissimmee plazas see heavy visitor traffic year-round. A Halloween gator call is a reminder that Florida wildlife does not take holidays off.
Launchpad could not independently open the original Sheriff's Office Facebook post at publish time; the facts above are attributed to the office as reported by FOX 35 and CBS12. If the office posts additional video or a longer release, we'll update.
Sources: Osceola County Sheriff's Office news release and Facebook post, as reported by FOX 35 Orlando (Emily Ching), Nov. 4, 2026, and CBS12, Nov. 4, 2026.
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