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Divers Find Body of Toddler Snatched by Alligator at Disney Resort Divers Find Body of Toddler Snatched by Alligator at Disney Resort
(about 4 hours later)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Divers here have recovered the body of a 2-year-old Nebraska boy who was dragged away by an alligator at a Disney resort, the county sheriff said Wednesday. LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Lane Graves was doing what any 2-year-old boy would be doing on a hot Florida evening — splashing around in the shallow waters of a lagoon. His parents and sister, Nebraskans all, were nearby on the beach at a Disney resort here, relaxing, carefree.
The Orange County sheriff, Jerry L. Demings, said at an afternoon news conference that the body of the boy, who was identified as Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Neb., had been found by a Sheriff’s Department dive team and was recovered about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves of Elkhorn, west of Omaha, were told a short time later. Suddenly, an alligator sprang from the water and clamped its jaws around the boy. Lane’s father, Matt Graves, bounded into the lagoon to wrestle his son from the animal’s steel-trap grasp, but lost the battle, according to an account by the Orange County sheriff, Jerry L. Demings.
Lane’s body was found near where he was last seen, Sheriff Demings said, adding that it took time to search the water, which he described as murky. “The autopsy has to confirm that, but there’s likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator,” he said, adding that the body was found intact. The alligator made off with the boy, and an intense search for him yielded nothing in the wide, murky expanse of water until more than 16 hours later, early on Wednesday afternoon, when divers found him about six feet below the surface and only 10 to 15 feet from where he had last been seen. He was placed in a marine patrol boat, covered with a white sheet, and turned over to the medical examiner for an autopsy.
The recovery ended a search that began shortly after 9 p.m. on Tuesday on the beach of the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. The artificial lake, which covers about 200 acres, is 14 feet deep in parts and feeds a series of canals that wind through the Disney complex. It lies across from Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park. “His body was completely intact,” Sheriff Demings said at a news conference less than a mile from the lagoon, shortly after he and a Catholic priest had delivered the “tough message” of the boy’s death to Mr. Graves, his wife, Melissa, and their 4-year-old daughter, who live in the Elkhorn section of Omaha, Neb.
The boy had waded into the water at the edge of the lagoon with his mother, father and 4-year-old sister when the alligator pulled him away, the sheriff said. “The family was distraught but also, I believe, relieved that we were able to find their son,” said the sheriff, who noted that there was no question in his mind that “the child was drowned by the alligator.”
“I believe what this 2-year-old was doing is what perhaps any 2-year-old might be doing as well,” the sheriff said. Lane had been splashing about, the sheriff said, despite a sign that said swimming was not permitted in the lagoon. His father also summoned a lifeguard from a nearby pool, but he, too, was unable to rescue the boy.
“The father entered the water and tried to grab the child and was not successful in doing so,” Sheriff Demings said. He said the child’s mother might also have gone into the water to help. The father alerted a lifeguard, he said. The recovery ended a search that began shortly after 9 p.m. on Tuesday in the lagoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. The artificial lake, which covers about 200 acres, is 14 feet deep in parts and feeds a series of canals that wind through the Disney complex. It lies across from the Magic Kingdom theme park.
Jeff Williamson, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said the lifeguard on duty was “too far away, unfortunately.” The father “was able to get over there quickly and a struggle did ensue,” Mr. Williamson said, adding that the father “had minor lacerations to his arm.” Alligators are a common sight in Florida ponds, lakes, lagoons and canals. The sheriff said five alligators were taken from the lagoon after the boy went under. They have been euthanized to determine if any of them killed the boy.
The family had been visiting the Orlando area since Sunday. Sheriff Demings noted that Disney had been in business in the area for 45 years and had never had a similar incident, and that no “nuisance alligators” had been reported in the area recently.
Jacquee Wahler, vice president of the Walt Disney World Resort, said the resort had closed its beaches for now. “Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by this tragic accident,” Jacquee Wahler, vice president of the 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.”
“Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by this tragic accident,” she said in an emailed statement. “Our thoughts are with the family. We are helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law enforcement.” The resort, which has closed its beaches for the time being, has a wildlife management team that monitors alligators and other animals and regularly removes any that appear to be troublesome, according to Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He said that alligator attacks were “not common at all” but that alligators were capable of moving across land and underwater so fencing them off was not a feasible option.
Sheriff Demings said that no such attack had been recorded at the lagoon before and that no “nuisance alligators” had been reported in the area recently. But some visitors to the resort on Wednesday said Disney could have done more to protect the child and other visitors beyond simply posting the “No Swimming” signs that dot the periphery of Seven Seas Lagoon and others like it.
Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said that alligator attacks were “not common at all” but that alligators are capable of moving across land and underwater so fencing them off is not a feasible option. “Disney should always have these lakes patrolled, with all the money they’re making,” Jerome Powell, a hotel concierge who works for a Disney competitor, said as he waited for a shuttle bus near the Magic Kingdom. “That alligator should never have been in that water. For the alligator to be able to walk right out of the lagoon and grab that child, that’s crazy.”
Alligators are common in lakes in Central Florida. In 2015, the area had its first reported fatal alligator attack since 2007. The body of a swimmer, James Okkerse, 61, of DeBary, Fla., was pulled from a lake in Volusia County, north of Orlando, and he was determined to have been attacked by a 12-foot alligator that was later shot and killed. Kaitlynn Michaud, 16, from Ellington, Conn., who was visiting with her mother, Kim, said a mere “No swimming” sign “isn’t really helpful enough” when alligators were known to be part of the natural population.
The county medical examiner found that the death of Mr. Okkerse, who had disappeared while swimming in Blue Spring State Park, was consistent with an alligator attack. “You can still be near the water,” she said, “and get into trouble.”
Also last year, a 22-year-old man who law enforcement officials said was trying to avoid capture during a burglary was killed by an 11-foot alligator in Brevard County, east of Orlando. The man, Matthew Riggins, had drowned, the Brevard County sheriff’s office said, and his body showed signs of having been mauled. Divers from the sheriff’s office encountered an aggressive alligator that was trapped and killed. Thomas Scolaro, a partner at the Miami law firm Leesfield Scolaro, which has represented families after alligator attacks elsewhere, said that in this case, “the facts look horrible for Disney.”
The attack on the 2-year-old occurred days after a gunman declaring allegiance to the Islamic State carried out the worst mass shooting in United States history. Forty-nine people were killed at a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday in that attack. “While this is a tragedy, it was entirely preventable had Disney acted reasonably and not left unwitting tourists at the mercy of dangerous and wild animals that roam its resort,’’ he said.
On Friday night, Christina Grimmie, a former cast member of the reality TV singing competition “The Voice” and a viral YouTube star, was fatally shot after performing at a popular Orlando music spot. The child’s death was another blow to an area already on edge after the shootings at an Orlando nightclub early on Sunday and the murder two days earlier of a popular singer. A state tourism official did not respond to a request for comment.
“We’re doing our best to deal with all of the situations we have going on here,” Sheriff Demings said. “But our staff is very resilient,” he added, and “they’re very focused, if you will, on assisting this family.” Wildlife experts estimate that there are 1.3 million alligators in Florida, and that they can be found in all 67 counties. They prefer freshwater lakes and slow-moving rivers and their associated wetlands, but they can also be found in brackish water habitats, said Tammy Sapp, a spokeswoman for the state fish and wildlife commission.
“Anywhere there is standing water, an alligator might be found,” she said,
Last year, the Central Florida area had its first reported fatal alligator attack since 2007. The body of a swimmer, James Okkerse, 61, of DeBary, Fla., was pulled from a lake in Volusia County, north of Orlando, and it was determined that he had been attacked by a 12-foot gator.
Also last year, a 22-year-old man who authorities said was fleeing a burglary was killed by an alligator in Brevard County, east of Orlando. The man, Matthew Riggins, drowned, the sheriff’s office said, and his body showed signs of having been mauled.
Ed Frank, visiting from Charlotte, N.C., with his wife and two sons, said Wednesday that he was sure the Graveses had been careful. “But we’re in Florida, and there are alligators in bodies of water,” he said. “Alligators in their natural environment are good at camouflage. It’s what they do.”