Florida woman ‘borrows’ alligator for birthday, leaves in hotel bathtub, police say

Nothing like coming back to your hotel room to take a shower and relax … alongside your "borrowed" reptile.

A woman is facing charges after she allegedly stole an alligator from her former place of employment and kept it inside an Orlando hotel bathtub to use for a birthday photo shoot.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, an officer was dispatched to the Grove Resort and Water Park in Winter Garden on Sept. 4 after the Orange County Sheriff's Office requested help with a juvenile alligator.

Officials shared that the woman who was keeping the alligator inside was identified as 25-year-old Madison Stephan.

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When did officers learn of the alligator in a tub inside a Florida hotel?

As of Friday, Sept. 22, it was unknown how OCSO first learned about the alligator. The FWC incident report says the officer was called by the sheriff's office for assistance with the reptile.

The USA TODAY Network-Florida reached out to the OSCO but has not heard back from its records request.

How did a Florida woman ‘borrow’ an alligator?

Reports show Stephan told the FWC official she "borrowed" the reptile without permission from her former employer, Croc Encounters, to take pictures with it for her birthday.

According to reports, she allegedly took the alligator by entering the facility before it opened using keys she still had in her possession.

The events were confirmed by Stephan's friend, who told officials that Stephan "had a surprise for her" upon driving to Croc Encounters. She watched her friend head inside and return with the alligator, then they both drove to Winter Gardens for their five-day vacation, reports show.

Where is Croc Encounters in Florida?

Crocs Encounters is in Tampa at 8703 Bowles Road. It is a wildlife park that highlights its guided tours, education and close-up encounters with a range of reptiles.

Croc Encounters and the Grove Resort and Water Park are more than an hour apart from one another. The resort is at 14501 Grove Resort Ave. in Winter Gardens.

What state was the alligator in when Florida Fish and Wildlife found it?

The FWC official confirmed the roughly 2-foot-long alligator in the bathtub in the report, also writing that it had no location where it could take itself out of the water.

The gator was "cold to the touch" from being inside the cold water in the bathtub, the incident report states.

Has the alligator been returned to Croc Encounters in Florida?

After the FWC official called Croc Encounters owner John Paner to confirm Stephans is no longer an employee and that they were missing a young alligator, it was said the animal was returned to the park later that afternoon.

What is Florida woman charged with in alligator-bathtub incident?

Paner declined to prosecute for theft or trespassing, according to the report.

Stephan was issued a notice to appear for possession of the alligator, which under state statutes is defined as:

• Unlawful sale, possession, or transporting of alligators or alligator skins: Whenever the sale, possession, or transporting of alligators or alligator skins is prohibited by any law of this state, or by the rules, regulations, or orders of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission adopted pursuant to s. 9, Art. IV of the State Constitution, the sale, possession, or transporting of alligators or alligator skins is a Level Three violation under s. 379.401.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Alligator from Croc Encounters left in Orlando hotel bathtub, police say