By Beckie Strum and Erich Schwartzel
A search team on Wednesday found the body of a 2-year-old boy
who was dragged into the water and drowned by an alligator the
previous evening at a Walt Disney World Resort, concluding a
17-hour search and rescue effort, authorities said.
"The dive team located what was believed to be the remains of
the deceased 2-year-old" around 1:45 p.m., said Orange County
Sheriff Jerry Demings Wednesday afternoon. "He was in the immediate
area where he was last seen."
The little boy's intact body was found roughly 10 to 15 yards
from where he was pulled under. He was wading in the water as his
family relaxed alongside the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney's Grand
Floridian Resort & Spa when the alligator attacked.
His father had tried to rescue him, but failed, authorities
said.
Rescue divers found the body about 6 feet underwater, Sheriff
Demings said.
Authorities identified the child as Lane Graves, who was on
vacation with his family, including mother and father, Melissa and
Matthew Graves, of Elkhorn, Neb.
The Graves were "distraught but somewhat relieved" that their
son's body was found, Sheriff Demings said, before delivering a
brief message from them.
"They appreciate all of the prayers," he said. "They can move
forward at this time with the burial."
A medical examiner will determine the cause of death, though
Sheriff Demings said there was "no doubt" in his mind that the
alligator had drowned the child.
Before the attack, the boy had been splashing in the man-made
lagoon, which is marked with no-swimming signs. When asked if the
child was breaking resort rules, Sheriff Demings said the boy "was
doing what any 2-year-old might have."
This is the first incident of its kind for the child-friendly
resort, Mr. Demings said. "Disney has operated for 45 years, and
they've never had this type of thing happen before," he said.
More than 50 law-enforcement personnel searched the lake just
days after area officials grappled with the shooting at Orlando's
Pulse nightclub, a rampage that left 50 people dead in the worst
mass shooting in U.S. history. Sheriff Demings said his staff was
"very resilient" despite the stress of the past few days.
Meanwhile, Disney World shut down all of the beaches at its
resorts as a precautionary measure, a spokesperson said.
"Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by
this tragic accident," said Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt
Disney World Resort. "Our thoughts are with the family. We are
helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law
enforcement."
Disney's 40-square-mile park has an extensive wildlife-control
system in place that is intended to prevent guest run-ins with wild
animals. The resort works with the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission and its own hired trappers to catch and
euthanize alligators that are spotted on the properties, said Nick
Wiley, executive director of the commission.
"They've routinely taken out alligators in the lakes and the
properties at large," Mr. Wiley said.
The investigation will continue until the alligator responsible
for the attack is caught and killed, though it is very likely that
it was one of the five alligators already in custody, Mr. Wiley
said. Teeth marks and other indicators will be used in identifying
the right reptile.
Fatal alligator attacks in Florida are rare. There have been
only 23 recorded deaths since 1948, when Florida Fish and Wildlife,
the state agency in charge of handling such incidents, began
keeping track. Eight of those deaths were children.
The state had gone eight years without a single alligator
killing, until last year, when a 12.5-foot gator killed a snorkeler
at Blue Spring State Park, about 30 miles north of Orlando.
In the past decades, there have been close to 100 unprovoked
alligator attacks. Two happened last August at Orlando-area
wildlife attractions, Forever Florida, a nature preserve south of
Orlando, where an alligator bit the thigh and severely injured an
employee there.
A couple of weeks later, another alligator attacked and bit the
entire forearm off a woman swimming in the Wekiva River, 25 miles
north of Orlando. Wildlife officials tracked down and euthanized
the animal within 24 hours.
"Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by
this tragic accident," said Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt
Disney World Resort. "Our thoughts are with the family. We are
helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law
enforcement."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 15, 2016 18:16 ET (22:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024