Eastern KY woman attacked, killed by dog during afternoon walk

Authorities have identified the victim of a Floyd County woman killed in a dog attack Sunday afternoon in the unincorporated community of Maytown.

The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office says Cynthia “Cindy“ Patton Prater, 64, died Sunday after she was attacked by a dog shortly before 3 p.m. on Railroad Street in a rural part of the county west of Pikeville.

Video from the scene captured a German shepherd known to residents in the area attacking Prater. She died on the scene, deputies said. Investigators said Prater regularly walked along the stretch of road and the dog often accompanied her.

It is still unclear why it became aggressive.

The dog has since been euthanized. It will undergo a necropsy to determine what may have caused the attack.

Austin R. Ramsey

Lexington Herald-Leader

Austin R. Ramsey covers Kentucky’s eastern Appalachian region and environmental stories across the commonwealth. A native Kentuckian, he has had stints as a local government reporter in the state’s western coalfields and a regulatory reporter in Washington, D.C. He is most at home outdoors.