In Orlando Florida, a two- year- old boy was snatched by an alligator at a Disney World resort. The boy and his family were at a movie night outdoors and at about 9pm, the little boy walked along a foot of water in the lagoon when the alligator grabbed hold of him.
The boy’s parents, as well as other witnesses, tried to save him. The father tried to wrestle the animals mouth open, but it was too late. The gator dragged the child underwater in the Seven Seas lagoon.
According to witnesses, the alligator was described to be anywhere from four feet to six or seven feet, but the exact size is not known at this point in time.
The lagoon apparently has “No Swimming Signs” at the lagoon but no signs warning about the alligators. This is, however, the first incident at any Disney resort, where somebody has been attacked by an alligator.
Since the attack, Disney World closed their beach resorts and troops of emergency personnel had been constantly searching the lagoon for the alligator and the boy but had not been successful. Authorities do not plan to stop the search until the boy is found or received.
A spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that a handful of alligators had been pulled from the lagoon so far. Those alligators had to be euthanized to be examined. However, they could not find any evidence that those alligators were involved.
The incident has made headlines across all Social Media and many commenters criticize the child’s parents for not keeping a close enough eye on him, while others urge compassion for what the parents of the child may be going through.
Authorities say that the boy is believed to be dead, but the ultimate goal of the search is to bring the family some form of closure by recovering their loved one.
UPDATES: On Wednesday afternoon, following an extensive 16-hour search and rescue effort by dozens of emergency personnel using sonar equipment, divers found and recovered the body of Lane Graves.
“There’s no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator,” Orange County sheriff Jerry Demings had said at a 4.30pm press conference.“It was a tough message to deliver to them. The family was distraught but somewhat relieved we were able to retrieve their son with his body intact.”