Categories: Alligator Florida

2-Year-Old Attacked By Alligator At Disney World Found Dead

Orange County Sheriff’s deputies along with Florida Fish and Wildlife officials search for boy attacked by alligator at Walt Disney World Photo credit: OCSO

UPDATE: At 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Orange County Sheriff Jerry L. Demmings announced that the body of the 2-year-old attacked by an alligator was recovered fully intact in the immediate area were he was last seen.

The child, identified as Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska, was found in approximately 6 feet of water several yards from his last known location.

“There is no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator,” Demmings said. But the cause of death will have to be officially confirmed by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Monday night, Lane’s parents, Matt and Mellisa Graves, were sitting at the beach-like area with Lane and his 4-year-old sibling. According to Demmings, Lane was just at the edge of the water when he was attacked by the alligator.

Demmings said that Lane’s parents were somewhat relieved that their son’s body was found fullly intact.

So far, five alligators have been captured by FWC in the Seven Seas Lagoon since the attack. Those alligators will undergo a necropsy to determine if any were the alligator that attacked Lane.

Alligators are opportunistic predators with an indiscriminate appetite that includes fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and even fruit. Alligators often consume food that can not be eaten in one bite by first allowing it to rot.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – A 2-year-old boy was attacked by an alligator at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

The Grand Floridian is among three hotels on the monorail circuit that encircles the Seven Seas Lagoon and neighbors the Magic Kingdom.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the boy was dragged into the lagoon by the alligator while the family was on a nearby beach. The boy’s father jumped into the water in an attempt to save the toddler, but was unable to pull the boy from the gator. The father suffered scratched during the attempted rescue. The family was visiting from Nebraska.

Photo: American Alligator in Central Florida. Credit: BCSO.

Map: Seven Seas Lagoon at Lake Buena Vista. Credit: Google

Just last week, an alligator was discovered with a human body in its mouth in nearby Lakeland, Florida.

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