Boy's Body Recovered After Disney Gator Attack

Orlando, FL — The search for a 2-year-old boy attacked and dragged away by an alligator at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa ended Wednesday afternoon with a grim discovery.

"Members of the Orange County Sheriff's Office dive team located what is believed to be the remains of the deceased," Sheriff Jerry Demings said.

Demings said the child's body was found intact and has been turned over to the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office to determine a cause of death.

The child has been identified as Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska. His parents are Matt and Melissa Graves, Demings said.

Demings said the family had been told of the discovery, and he said the parents asked him to thank the public for their prayers.

The search for the boy began Tuesday night when an alligator snatched the child at the Seven Seas Lagoon, a man-made lake on the resort property. The boy was standing at the edge of the lake with his feet in the water when the alligator came up and snatched him, Orange County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Rose Silva said.

"The father hears splashing, sees the alligator grabbing his child," Silva said. The father "struggles with the alligator (and the) alligator pulls the child into the water and they disappeared."

The family was on vacation from Nebraska, Silva said.

Four alligators were pulled from the lake, euthanized and checked for evidence of the boy. So far, no evidence was found. 

The sheriff's office had divers, aviation units and others looking for the child. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was also on the scene.

Disney announced the decision to close all beaches on its resort property Wednesday morning "out of an abundance of caution."

See also:

• Fatal Florida Alligator Attack Confirmed
• Man Found Dead in Alligator’s Mouth Identified
• 11-Foot Gator Eats Burglar

“Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by this tragic accident," Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with the family. We are helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law enforcement.”

Fatal alligator attacks are rare but not unheard of in Florida.

Last October, a 62-year-old man swimming in Blue Springs State Park died as a result of an alligator attack. A 12-1/2-foot alligator was captured and euthanized following that attack.

Earlier this month, a 72-year-old homeless man was found dead in the jaws of an alligator in Lakeland. Authorities have yet to release a cause of death in that case.

The incident involving the homeless man was the second in recent weeks in the Lakeland area. In May, a gator bit off part of a 21-year-old man's left arm. The man jumped into a lake while trying to avoid police who were searching for him at the request of his mother.

Late last year, an alligator reportedly ate a burglary suspect in Brevard County.

Despite the state’s bustling alligator population, serious attacks and fatalities are not common in Florida. Between 1948 and 2013, there were 22 fatalities recorded, according to FWC records. During that period, a total of 122 minor bites and 235 major bites were also logged. The last fatal alligator attack on record prior to this year occurred in 2007.

Alligator-related human fatalities might not be common, but encounters with the creatures are. Those encounters add up to so many over the course of any given year that the state has set up its own hotline to accept nuisance alligator calls. That number is 1-866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).

In 2013 alone, the state fielded 15,036 nuisance alligator calls, which resulted in the removal of 6,605 creatures.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission