The body of the 2-year-old boy who was dragged and snatched by an alligator on the shores of Disney’s upscale Grand Floridian Resort & Spa has been found, authorities said Wednesday.
The tragic toddler, identified as Lane Graves, was found at around 3:30 p.m. by a dive team not far from where he was attacked by the alligator at the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon located across the lake from the Magic Kingdom, said Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.
Lane’s body was found “intact” about 10 to 15 yards away from where he was attacked by the animal on Tuesday night at around 9 p.m. as his parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, were nearby.
“There is no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator,” said Demings, adding that the boy’s body was being taken to the Orange County Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy and to formally identify the boy.
“We will go through the formality of making a formal identification, but there is no reason for us to believe that the body that was recovered is not Lane Graves,” Demings said.
The boy, who was vacationing with his family of five from Elkhorn, Nebraska, was on the shoreline of the 172-acre Seven Seas Lagoon when the gator — estimated to be between 4 and 7 feet long — attacked him.
The recovery of the boy’s body marked the end to a comprehensive search that included the use of sonar technology and the help of search-and-rescue teams on land and water.
The boy’s dad desperately tried to pry him loose from the animal but was unable to and suffered injuries while trying to save his son from the grip of the gator’s jaw, officials said.
“There are eyewitnesses who certainly saw the child taken under the water,” said Demings at an earlier press briefing.
Officials said that five alligators have been taken out in the area and euthanized as authorities checked for any signs of the toddler, but officials did not yet know if they had captured the culprit.
“We are going to make sure that we have the alligator that’s involved,” said Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. “There is a good chance that we already have the alligator.”
The attack happened in an area where “No Swimming” signs were posted. There are no signs of gators in the area even though officials admitted that the reptiles are “routinely” removed from Disney grounds.
“Disney has a very proactive program for identifying and removing alligators that pose a fear to people or otherwise might be a risk,” said Wiley. “They remove numbers of alligators routinely and we have essentially an open partnership with them where they can just call a trapper and even some of their own staff are allowed to take out alligators when they see one that is a problem.”
According to state, an alligator is generally deemed a nuisance if it’s at least four feet long.
More than 50 law enforcement personnel searched the lake throughout the night along with an alligator tracker and two marine units.
Disney closed all of its beaches at the resort “out of abundance of caution” on Wednesday.
Wiley said it’s rare for people to be attacked by alligators.
“Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by this tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the family,” Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said. “We are helping the family and
doing everything we can to assist law enforcement.”
There had been no other recent reports of similar alligator attacks on the lake, Demings said.
“Disney has operated here now for 45 years and they never have had this type of thing happen before,” said Demings. “It is Florida and alligators are indigenous to this region of the county.”
Demings added that Disney has a wildlife management system in place and “they have worked diligently to ensure their guests are not unduly exposed to the wildlife in this area.”
The tragedy was the latest to hit the Orlando area within a week. On Friday night, singer Christina Grimmie was killed by a gunman who then killed himself. Early Sunday, an ISIS supporter
massacred 49 people and wounded 53 others.
Hotel guest A.J. Jain and his wife traveled from Georgia to Disney for a conference.
“I’m just here to say a prayer,” he told the Orlando Sentinel. “I can’t imagine what those parents are going through. It’s been one tough week in Orlando.”