A couple strolling along the bank of the Monongahela River yesterday in Glassport happened on a dead 16-foot reticulated python.

David Collura, chairman of the Allegheny County Conservation District and a wildlife pest control agent, said the snake appeared to have been killed by a boat propeller.

The snake's head and tail were crushed, though its fangs were still intact, Mr. Collura said. He said the python probably escaped from its owner or its owner may have turned it loose because it got too "big and dangerous."

"It was big enough to eat a dog or a small child," he said. "This snake was one of the biggest I had seen in awhile. This was a monster."

The snake had been dead for about a day or so, Mr. Collura said. Reticulated pythons are not native to Pennsylvania , he said.

First Published: July 27, 2007, 5:00 a.m.