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(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Searchers found a middle aged mother of four who went missing in Indonesia dead inside the belly of a 20 foot python, according to the Independent.
Farida, 45, left her home on Thursday night to sell food at a local market when she ran into the snake.
Authorities suspect that the snake bit her, then coiled around her unconscious body to suffocate her, then swallowed her whole.
Farida’s husband, Noni, found the engorged snake near his wife’s belongings, scattered around the forest floor.
Villagers caught the snake and cut it open, finding Farida inside.
“Several other villages then helped him to catch the python,” said Suardi Rosi, head of the village of Kalempang. “The body of his wife was found in the stomach of a snake. She was taken away to his house before being buried.”
Noni and many other villagers mourned Farida’s death as they carried her body to the village.
“I feel sorry for the suffering she went through,” said Noni. “I am sorry for our family.”
Python attacks are rare, but not unheard of–particularly in Indonesia.
Residents of Sulawesi’s Tinanggea district killed a 26-foot-long python in 2023 as it was in the midst of attempting to eat a local farmer.
In 2018, a 23-foot snake devoured a 54-year-old woman in a nearby district.
The largest python in recorded history was 32 feet long, weighing 350 pounds.
Pythons usually feed on small rodents, but also eat pigs, cows, bearcats and primates.
The snakes are sensitive to vibrations, heat and light, and usually avoid human settlements.
According to the local police chief, Noni’s and Farida’s home is close to a cliff known to be home to many snakes.
“I am forever sorry that I let my wife go out alone,” Noni said, according to Metro. “If I had been with her that day, the snake would not have dared to touch her.”
