Los Angeles — Reptile wranglers searching for an alligator let loose in a southern California lake have given up the hunt - at least for now.
The alligator was spotted Aug. 12 in Harbor City's Lake Machado, and since then hundreds of visitors have flocked to the South Los Angeles park for a glimpse.
However, the reptile has not been seen since Aug. 21.
"We are considering this halftime," Tim Williams, a 30-year gator handler from Florida, said Friday when the search was called off. "He's won the first half."
Two men, one a Los Angeles officer, were arrested this past week for conspiring to release the alligator in the 56-acre lake.
Williams said the gator has plenty of food - frogs and crayfish inhabiting the lake, and tortillas and chicken legs left by visitors and park officials.
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