DIS Walt Disney Co

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)

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