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WHITNEY POINT – In the wake of a Facebook post circulating over the weekend alleging there to be an alligator sighted along the Tioughnioga River in Whitney Point, Mayor of Whitney Point Ryan Reynolds has taken to Facebook to warn the public it is no hoax.

In a post authored by Reynolds on Sunday, July 23, he said, “Reports of an alligator sighting along the Tioughnioga River between Whitney Point and Lisle have been circulating over night and this morning. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been contacted and believes the reports to be true.”

Reynolds continued to say that the DEC is under the impression the alligator in question was probably somebody's pet before it was released to the wild, despite it being illegal to domesticate alligators in New York State.