COLUMBIA, S.C. — A 60-year-old Alaska woman who was visiting family in South Carolina died Thursday after an apparent dog attack, authorities said.
Lori Martin of Anchorage was found unresponsive inside a Cherryvale area home just before noon with multiple lacerations on her body consistent with dog bites and claw scratches, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.
A preliminary investigation found that four dogs fighting each other inside the South Lake Cherryvale Drive home likely attacked Martin. A total of six dogs were inside the home at the time, the sheriff’s office said.
“We have not seen anything of this nature in a very long time and this is such a tragic thing to take place just before the holidays,” Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said in a statement.
Dennis said the owner of the dogs did not have a criminal record and there had been no prior calls for service at the home or record of dog fighting in the immediate area.
The sheriff’s office seized and quarantined the four dogs — three boxers and a pit bull — suspected to have been involved in the attack. They will be examined to determine their temperament.
“This incident is still under investigation and we’re looking into every angle to determine the factors of this case,” Dennis said.