Police: Alligator Spotted in Summerhill Park

Updated: 4:40 p.m. 

There have been no further signs of the alligator in searches by police and the Woodridge Park District, according to a park district release. 

"Because there is a creek that transects the park property, it is possible the small reptile has moved on," the release said. 

The alligator had been spotted near Prestiss Creek in the park.

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An alligator was spotted early Wednesday in according to police.

The alligator is 2 feet in length, according to Gina Grady, deputy chief for the . 

A jogger spotted the gator around 7 a.m Wednesday. The jogger took a photo of the alligator and sent it to his mom, said Mike Adams, executive director of the .

The mother then sent the photo to police around 11:26 a.m. Police responded but could not find the animal. Police notified nearby residents of the gator sighting through reverse 911 on Wednesday. 

Adams said the park district only learned of the alligator Friday afternoon, and a crew was dispatched to look for the gator in the creek and grounds around the park. The crew will contact police if the alligator is found, Adams said. 

Any resident who sees the gator should also call 911, he said. 

The alligator already could be long gone. "It could be a mile away already," Adams said. 

There have been reports of alligators in Woodridge before, Adams said, but it's been "a great number of years in the past" and none of those incidents involved Woodridge parks. 

Adams suspected the alligator was the pet of a resident that got loose or was left outside. 

Summerhill Park is a long strip of land stretching from Route 53 to Ivanhoe Avenue, running parallel to 63rd Street. It's surrounded by a residential area and almost touches both and Triangle Park. 

A map showing the location of Summerhill Park is here. 

Debbie Howe posted a question on Woodridge Patch Friday morning asking if the alligator had been caught. 

She wrote that several residents in Summerhill received a call from the police department Wednesday saying an alligator was spotted in the park.