FOLKSTON, Ga. -- Charles O'Qinn and Terry Lee have seen many things cross River Road, but they never thought a python would be one of them.
"We didn't really know what kind of snake it was. We just knew it was a big one," said Lee.
They spotted half of it slithering across the rural road Monday. They followed it into the brush and shot it. "If it got a hold of a grown man, he wouldn't have a chance. He was too strong. I couldn't even hold it by the tail," said O'Qinn.
The pair said the snake was at least 11-foot long and more than a foot around. "He was real fat. So he has been eating," said O'Qinn.
"They are getting everywhere in South Florida, and they could be up here too," said Lee.
The python was just outside of the Okefenokee Swamp, but researchers don't think that's where it originated.
"Pythons can get large enough to eat things like small deer and small children," said UNF Biology professor Joseph Butler.
Butler studies reptiles and believes this one was released. "Usually these animals are not going to make it through the winter."
"We don't need that type of snake in this area. It's not native," said Lee.
The snake's bones are still left laying on the side of River Road. And the pair hopes that is the only thing the python left behind.
