Missing mother found dead inside vicious 16ft-long python in Indonesia

A woman, who had been missing since Thursday, has been found dead inside a deadly 16-foot-long snake after it swallowed her whole in central Indonesia, according to a local official, CBS News reported.

Farida, 45, was discovered by her husband and residents of Kalempang village in South Sulawesi province on Friday inside the reticulated python.

The mother-of-four had gone missing Thursday night and failed to return home, prompting a search effort, village head Suardi Rosi told AFP.

Her husband "found her belongings... which made him suspicious. The villagers then searched the area. They soon spotted a python with a large belly," said Suardi.

"They agreed to cut open the python's stomach. As soon as they did, Farida's head was immediately visible."

Farida was found fully clothed inside the snake.

The incident marks at least the fifth of its kind in the country since 2017.

According to CBS News, reticulated pythons grab onto their prey with dozens of sharp curved teeth and then squeeze it to death before swallowing it whole. 

They are common in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, and are known to eat monkeys, pigs and other mammals.

The reticulated python is the longest snake in the world, according to London's Natural History Museum. They are native to Southern Asia and can grow to be more than 20 feet long.