Del Valle gators still causing fear in neighborhood

The fear of an attack is felt in a Del Valle neighborhood where at least one alligator has been spotted since 2013.

In the Berdoll Farms neighborhood in Del Valle sits a series of retention ponds. The murky water and tall grass look to be the perfect habitat for an alligator. Word of mouth and photo evidence shows it is.

But there is a problem. The area is surrounded by homes and a walking trail. Children play in a pool, playground and basketball court nearby.

"I don't have any kids myself, but as a teacher, this bothers me,” said homeowner Sonya Walczyk.

Homeowner Sonya Walczyk's fence line borders the walking path. She keeps watch for those who get too close to the water.

"I'm actually more scared about the teenagers, because teenagers like to poke things than I am the little kids,” said Walczyk.

Walczyk's fear of something bad happening is only heightened after hearing of a two year old boy--dragged underwater by an alligator at a hotel on the Disney World grounds in Florida.

Signs once warned the Berdoll Farms community. We got video of them last year just as the fire department came out to do a site assessment just in case they needed to do an emergency run.

Those signs have since disappeared--the apparent act of vandals.

"That's a damage to the community because now you can't even tell if you came in as a friend of someone walking the trail now, you don't know that you can't approach the water,” said Walczyk.

A spokesperson for Texas Parks and Wildlife says game wardens continued to attempt to catch the gator or gators last year and they disappeared.

It is possible the recent flooding caused movement. At this point they say they are in a holding pattern until there is another sighting.

Walzck thinks the gators will make another appearance.

"I don't think they're gone. Periodically we get one egret, crane and they're gone. That tells me they know more than we do," said Walczyk.

Should alligators be spotted again, Texas Parks and Wildlife will try to capture them and relocate the animals back into their natural habitat in a remote location. Somewhere away from people.