Update (4:15 EST): Florida police have confirmed that the toddler attacked by an alligator has been found dead. The child has been identified as Lane Graves of Nebraska. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Graves family.
It’s the stuff of nightmares.
A family’s dream vacation at a posh Disney resort was interrupted by horror when their innocent toddler was violently snatched away by an alligator right in front of them.
Wildlife officials have begun pulling and cutting open alligators from a lagoon at Walt Disney World after a 2-year-old boy was dragged into the water by one near the upscale Grand Floridian Resort & Spa as his father frantically tried to rescue his son.
Meanwhile, Disney closed beaches Wednesday at their resorts “in an abundance of caution,” divers remained on standby and stunned summer visitors to the Magic Kingdwom waited to hear news of efforts to find the child.
The family of five from Nebraska was on vacation and wading in the Seven Seas Lagoon about 9:20 p.m. Tuesday when the child was taken from an area where “no swimming” were posted by an alligator estimated to be between 4 feet and 7 feet long, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told a news conference early Wednesday.
The grim news is the latest for a city hammered with tragedy in the past few days. On Sunday, a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, leaving 49 people dead in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. On Friday night, Christina Grimmie, 22, a contestant on season six of “The Voice,” was killed as she signed autographs after a show in Orlando.
Nick Wiley with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the four alligators were taken from the water overnight, but officials found no immediate indication they were involved in the child’s disappearance. He said the alligators are to be cut open and their remains examined after they are euthanized.
The beach area is part of the luxury Grand Floridian resort, across the lake from Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park. The man-made lake stretches about 200 acres and reaches a depth of 14 feet. Called the Seven Seas Lagoon, the lake feeds into a series of canals that wind through the entire Disney property.
More than 50 law enforcement personnel searched the well-tended lagoon along with an alligator tracker and two marine units. Williamson said more personnel were being brought in Wednesday to offer some “fresh eyes” for the search.
More than a million alligators live throughout Florida, though the species remains listed as an endangered species because it closely resembles the endangered American crocodile.
Though Florida has grown to the third-most populous state, fatal alligator attacks remain rare. There have been 23 fatalities caused by wild alligators in Florida since 1973, according to data compiled by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Those fatalities were among 383 unprovoked bites not caused by someone handling or intentionally harassing an alligator.
Eight children, ages 2 to 16, are among the fatalities. Five died while swimming in lakes, rivers and canals. The youngest victims were killed near lakes, including a 2-year-old girl who wandered 700 feet from her fenced backyard and a 3-year-old boy who left a roped-off swimming area in a county park to pick lily pads.
Williamson, the sheriff’s spokesman, said the boy was at the edge of the water, probably about a foot or two into the water, when the alligator attacked. The water was dark Tuesday night as searchers looked for the boy, he said.
Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahaler said everyone at the resort was devastated by what happened and Disney is helping the family.
Minnesota residents John and Kim Aho, visiting Disney with their 12-year-old son Johnny, were stunned to hear what had happened to the child, whose name has not been released.
“We have been to Yellowstone and encountered grizzly bears, but this is just freaky,” John Aho said.
Kim Aho said their son is leery of the water around the park.
“He’s a little freaked out about the gator,” she said.
The sheriff said there had been no other recent reports of similar alligator attacks on the lake.
The wildlife commission said eight of the 15 adults killed by alligators had been swimming in freshwater bodies of water, including a 36-year-old man swimming across a pond while trying to elude police. One 54-year-old woman was seized by an alligator while landscaping near a pond, and an 82-year-old man was killed while walking his dog on a path between two wetland areas.
Alligators are opportunistic feeders that will eat what is readily available and easily overpowered. It’s illegal to feed wild alligators because that causes them to lose their fear of humans. According to wildlife commission biologists, alligators seldom bite people for reasons other than food.
Wildlife commission statistics show Florida averages about seven serious unprovoked bites a year, and the frequency of these bites is rising. However, the likelihood of someone being seriously injured by an unprovoked alligator in Florida is roughly one in 2.4 million.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
A horrible story. Up here in the northeast it’s a big deal to get a mouse in the house. Down in Florida one can get a dangerous alligator or poisonous snake on ones property. I’ll keep the blizzards, sub zero weather and hot/ humid summers up here.
I agree 100%. Florida might be a nice place to visit, but after that, get me the heck out of there! Wouldn’t live there if you paid me. Love Pennsylvania and the beauty of the seasons. And, by the way, let’s not forget that Florida is our country’s “sinkhole” capital. Go to bed at night, and just pray that your house will still be on the surface of the earth the next morning! Sinkholes, gators, poisonous snakes, to name a few bad things about Florida, now we can add “fear of being killed” to the list! All you “snowbirds”…….are you NUTS!!!
I’m not aware of any the Asian tiger snakes(Rhabdophis tigrinus), or any other Rhabdophis loose in Florida. And you can find venomous snakes in pretty much any state. “Fear of being killed” by gators, is far from new, and they WERE in a “no swimming” area.
HEY DEB WHERE WHERE WERE THE PARENTS? AS A FATHER OF 5 I REALY DONT THINK I WOULD LEAVE ANY OF MY CHILDREN ON A BEACH THAT SAID ALLIGATORS NOT EVEN CLOSE BY, NOT WITHIN 500 MILES, IF THEY DONT SEE THE SWAMP I REALY DONT CARE, THEY WILL STILL BE ALIVE. AN DADDY CAN KISS AN HUG THEM!
I agree with you. I guess they just left their guard down because they felt that Disney World was such a magic place that nothing bad could possibly happen there. It is so sad that a precious baby boy had to lose his life to make everyone aware that danger can happen in the most unexpected places. It was a beautiful evening on a Disney beach, nothing could have prepared them for the horror that was about to happen. But Disney World needed more than “no swimming” signs. For God’s sake, they should have had signs everywhere saying “Beware of Alligators in the water, STAY OUT”. That would have made all the difference. No one would have been near the water, especially their small defenseless children. I can’t imagine the parents grief, they’ll never get over it ever.
Don’t forget the pythons.
And don’t you have coydog/wolves running around?
@ Wendy: We have coyotes in the suburbs and even some areas of Boston. NYC has coyotes in Central Park and in the boroughs. Wild turkey flocks are common now in urban areas up here too.
Do not blame the alligator! This is what alligators do so don’t go to places where they are known to exist. This is a very sad story but the alligator is innocent.
I find it shocking to know that Disney, in all their technical wonder, would allow live gators access to guests at any point.
The parents were not very bright either allowing their child near or In the water at all. Both are to blame. Complacency.
The very thing our government is guilty of and the reason why the Orlando Club attack was possible. jwstx
That was my reaction. Even with ‘no swimming signs’, guests should not have even been ABLE to get into water that might have an alligator – using barricades, etc. Yes, the parents were at fault for not noticing or obey the signs, but this was a huge lawsuit waiting to happen.
It’s this thing called “wilderness.” Sometimes it’s really close to habitations. Sometimes people (like you) think that if they aren’t physically prevented from doing something, it’s perfectly safe to do it. By your logic, pedestrians shouldn’t be able to get into any place that has cars–good luck designing a parking lot.
Maybe Li’l Lyin’ Donnie should send all alligators back where they came from so humans can be safe when we play. Oh, wait, they were here when we drained the swamp to build a theme park..
Oh Oracle (AKA “wiseguy” of obviously questionable intelligence):
Maybe they should hire the frog-lke witch of Bengazi to contact her crooked muslime friends to firebomb and barbeque the lizards. Or maybe get Brainless Bernie the Wonder Bum to give them free schooling to learn not to bite people … at taxpayer expense, of course.
You’re right Bub…it’s a wonder old Killery hasn’t blamed Trump for the alligator attack! That wouldn’t surprise me the way she twists everything to make herself look so righteous and innocent!
Most sensible response. Unfortunately we the people allow complacency. Electing Obama because of the desire to give the black man a chance has led to a disaster with far reaching negative results. Letting a two year old wander away from a parent’s side is another. Both resulted in horrendous consequences, one more far reaching affecting millions and one personally too horrendous to imagine.
You are correct – but now they’re trying to capture and kill – i.e. open up all alligators.
One would think it would be better for the parents not to see that.
Disney can’t keep alligators out of the lake. Homeowners find them in their garages along with pythons.
But the sign should have warned people that there are gators in the water – you can’t even be where the land meets the water with gators, they’re damn fast.
Only thing you can really do now is pray for these parents – they didn’t intend the results that ensued, both the mother and father tried to wrestle the boy away from the gator & couldn’t do it.
Well, they DID say, “no swimming.” Most sensible people would interpret that to mean “no aquatic pedestrians.”
No good enough…Warning, aligators may come into these waters! Was what was needed to be posted…Blame Disney and the heads of the corporation in it for profit,.
Walking on a beach that they though was safe and getting your toes wet at the edge of the beach is NOT SWIMMING you ninny! The sign didn’t say “DON’T GET IN THE WATER AT ALL OR YOU MIGHT GET KILLED BY AN ALLIGATOR”. Maybe you are not very sensible, as you don’t seem to have any empathy for those poor parents who were the victims of a horrible accident.
Do not blame the parents, they were visitors to Disney and do not know the dangers of Florida…Because it is a place for all our children, one would assume that Disney would make sure to prevent all danger….Evidently they shirked their duty…It is not the Disney of Walt Disney after all…..
Once again a tragedy for a child and an animals because
Parent don’t heed warnings !!!
The old adage that nobody reads signs apparently remains true. I do believe, though, that the parents should be charged with criminal negligence, or felony stupid. It’s got to be against the law to be that dumb, in my opinion.
I don’t think charging the parents is the right thing to do. Having lost a child myself, I know how heart wrenching and painful it can be. Those parents are suffering get a kick do of hell no one can imagine unless they have buried a child. They will have to live with this for their whole life, replaying it over and over in their minds, they will blame themselves and each other for years to come , and may not survive this as a family. NO ONE should have to bury their child. If indeed mistakes were made then they wil, have to live with it, and that my friend is a private hell, much worse than what the law could do to them. They will suffer more than enough. Leave them alone and let them try to heal
I agree.
I don’t think charging the parents is the right thing to do. Having lost a child myself, I know how heart wrenching and painful it can be. Those parents are suffering in a way no one can imagine unless they have buried a child. They will have to live with this for their whole life, replaying it over and over in their minds, they will blame themselves and each other for years to come , and may not survive this as a family. NO ONE should have to bury their child. If indeed mistakes were made then they will have to live with it, and that my friend is a private hell, much worse than what the law could do to them. They will suffer more than enough. Leave them alone and let them try to heal.
Didn’t happen at that zoo, and that took a lot more negligence on the part of the parents than this did.
EXACTLY!!! There are PLENTLY OF POOLS AT GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT , I’ve have stayed there !!! NO NEED TO GO AT 9:20 at DARK NIGHT INTO DARK WATER WITH A 2 year old in a lagoon with alligators!!!! STUPIDITY!! TRAGIC!!! SHAMELESS TRAGIC DEATH OF A CHILD !!! May he rest in peace !!! Poor baby !????????????
You’re right. But now is not the time for being right. These parents must be on the verge of insanity over this.
A 2 year old walking in the water at 930 at night? Where were their brains?
I agree that a child out walking that hour of the night. Can not understand this happening. Should have held the child’s hand the whole “TIME”! Have been to FLORIDA and owned property at one time which was right by a LAKE.
SOLD the property since FLORIDA was getting to be overcrowded.
The parents have to be morons. The Sign said NO SWIMMING.
Not only are there gators in there- and in most water in Florida- the lake alone is 14 ft in areas.
I’m sure they are some of the idiots ready for Hillary. Clueless.
Trump supporters without a doubt.
You’re an ass!
… not sure which the “WiseGuy” is more: an ass, as you aptly classified him, or a simple moron.
Where are the brains of the Disney organization?
Why not change your moniker to MonicleGuy since you so OBVIOUSLY have a problem seeing things as they are, not as YOU imagine them.
The signs were “No Swimming”??? Here’s an idea; how about: DANGER! ALLIGATORS!
No swimming signs. A two year old walking in the water that goes up to 14 feet at 9:30pm at night. All the signs of danger are there. Where are the parents? Why aren’t the children safely tucked in their beds? The parents are negligent!
Has anyone stopped to wonder why Disney built such an amusement park in an Alligator Infested location in the first place years ago. Oh yes, it was cheap swamp land at the time ?
Imagine what it will be like when the invasive Burmese Pythons get in that far. Cop out time for Disney I suppose.
Uh, because if they built it in the north they’d have to take winter off, or at least spend ricidulous amount of money winter-proofing everything? Got news for you: lots of people go to Florida for lots of reasons–and they’re NOT all Disney.
Once it gets dark it isn’t a good idea to go into areas where dangerous animals may be. More than likely this child was the evening meal for the alligator.
A child may not understand the difference between animals in a cartoon and in real life but the parents should. In real life wild animals spend much of their time looking for food. Unlike the cartoons, a real alligator is not looking to be friendly or entertain someone. The real alligator is looking for a meal.
I’m unfamiliar with this resort, but the parents should have picked an indoor pool for their child to play in.
“NO SWIMMING” means …..STAY OUT OF THE WATER!!
A terrible thing, if there are dangerous critters in the pond, there should have been signs posted to this danger, Not no swimming. The park is at fault here, They should be shut down and made to pay up the ass.
Usually, “No Swimming” does mean danger. Hence the word “No”.
You speak as if gators getting into an outdoor body of water is something they can control, when gators have successfully invaded private swellings nowhere near water?
From what I’ve heard on the news, when Disney built it’s theme park, they were required (I assume by the Environmental Terrorists) to set aside XXXX number of acres surrounding the park as a wild life preserve. (thus negating any perimeter safety barrier)
So will Disney offer the now family of four free life time passes to Disney including First Class air travel?
There should never be any dangerous animals anywhere near places where people stay, especially resorts. I have been to the Floridian and it is very elegant inside so it definitely should never have had alligators near the premises. Fences, signs, enclosures, etc. should have been put up for safety.
There are gators in people’s swimming pools, garages, walking along golf courses. One would be hard pressed to find an area where gators haven’t been seen in Florida – even far away from swamps.
So let’s just hang “no admittance” signs on most of the national parks. Wouldn’t want to encounter any nature on your nature walks. If they managed to make it gator-proof, you probably wouldn’t want to stay there because it wouldn’t look much different from a prison.
To be effective, a sign must be supplemented by educating guests about the consequences of ignoring them.
I think that the State Government of Florida should actively seek to find a “Final Solution” to this gator problem in Florida.
Oh, sure, WE encroach more and more on THEIR space, so let’s just kill them off and throw the whole ecosystem out of whack. We nearly destroyed Yellowstone that way. Fortunately, saner heads prevailed and we re-introduced wolves before it passed the point of no return. Probably. Hopefully.
You have no idea how many species would be lost in the domino effect of eradicating Florida’s crocodillians–unless the pythons took over the “apex predator” position exclusively. I for one, would rather deal with the gators–at least they don’t crawl out of your toilets.
write the kid off. either drowned or eaten. Likely both. Too many parties sharing blame. it WAS preventable.
Uh, yeah. The parents could have read in one of the thousands of publications or seen on one of upteen videos about visiting Florida that “Florida has gators,” especially around ANY body of water that connects to a navigable waterway. Next, we’ll be suing schools because little Susie and Johnnie weren’t paying attention when the teacher taught the class to “look both ways” in their “safe living” class.
This is not a time to place blame especially on the parents. The parents need support, not criticism. I cannot imagine the horror of seeing a child pulled under water by an alligator. The Disney resort I stayed at last summer did have signs “Beware of Alligators”. Also, this is no place for politics. My heart goes out to this family.
People STOP your imbecile ranting and raving! Have you no shame?
An innocent child, a 2 year old toddler, please a moment of silence!!!
“…alligators seldom bite people for reasons other than food.” How comforting.
Were these alligators wild or planted?
“More than a million alligators live throughout Florida, though the species remains listed as an endangered species because it closely resembles the endangered American crocodile.”…hmm.”
“Called the Seven Seas Lagoon, the lake feeds into a series of canals that wind through the entire Disney property.” will you run that by me again?
Jim
A very sad story. The only consolation is that Heaven gained another little angel. May The Good Lord comfort his family
i’d be willing to wager that at least 15 law firms have either already contacted the family or have tried to. Disney will pay, and big-time, too.
They can afford the best lawyers. They had warnings up, gators are endemic and known to get into places you wouldn’t expect them to be. Close as you’ll get to “act of God.” Have as much luck suing them for sunburn.
I live in Florida for many years ,love it here for the ones that think alligators and pythons are all over the place I don’t think that’s the case I have never came a cross a pythons or Alligator I live 35 miles from where this happen,sorry some of you hate my state ,but it such a nice place to live you keep your snow I’ll keep my sunshine !!pray for the family the baby is with God in heaven.
What sort of a beta-cuck liberal only “tries” to save his own son
after first having let him wander near a dangerous alligator?!
Hey Wendy, I counted 11 arrogant responses you made to others comments concerning this horrible tragedy. Are you a desperate real estate agent trying to sell crocodile infested lake front Florida property to unsuspecting Northerners? Good Luck. Why don’t you spend your time setting up a crocodile preserve in Florida so you can save and love your little monsters and keep them as pets. You seem to love them so much.
Institute a comprehensive trapping program
I agree with the comment that nothing we can do will increase the parents’ suffering. Can you imagine wrestling with a loved one being pulled under by an alligator? I can’t. Too horrible to think about…….
I’m appalled by most of the comment in this thread! Many of these responses appear to be so callous, ignorant or self-righteous to be blaming the parents for this horrible tragedy. People have you no shame or compassion for these parents who have lost their two year old son in such a horrific way? Joyce made the most sense as someone who has lost a child. Accidents happen, and yes, I do realize that many accidents may have been preventable, including this one, but these parents went from Nebraska to give their children a wonderful vacation, not to lose a child to a nearly prehistoric predator. As someone who owns a home in Florida and lives there every winter and will soon move there as a year round Florida resident, I can attest to the problems presented by alligators, crocodiles, pythons, and other wild creatures. There are problems with many wild animals in various parts of the U.S. and the rest of the world, some of it created by humans encroaching in the animals habitats and some by lack of safe guards for the humans
and the animals, and others by lack of information regarding the dangers. It appears that this tragedy may have involved all three
reasons. These parents will suffer self-recriminations and guilt for the rest of their lives. Show some humanity, love and compassion. If we can, and should, feel awful about the series of horrific events in Orlando this week, this is yet another one. The “vacation destination of the nation” has been under assault all week. Pray for the families and victims of these events in Orlando instead of expressing vehemence and blame. They all deserve understanding and compassion, not criticism. You could be the next victim of a random act of violence by another human or animal.
Deb why ?are you so nasty to Wendy I don’t think you have ever come to Florida ,we don’t have Alligatores walking the streets in Florida or pythons what part of the North do you live? I don’t think it’s very nice to bash anyone,God bless you Deb come to Florida you would fall in love Like I did .I come here from the North do not miss the snow at all!,,
Wanda, I’ve been to Florida several times, that’s why I would never live there. Saw some pretty nasty bumper stickers on cars saying ” Thanks for visiting, now get the hell back where you came from”! Really nice huh!
Anyway, different strokes for different folks. I’m glad you like your home state, that’s great. I like mine too, and I’m never moving. You don’t miss the snow…..I would! It just wouldn’t seem like Christmas in 100% heat down there.
As far as Wendy goes, I think I’m saying to her what a lot of people would LIKE to say. She’s the nasty one, not me!
Deb this is not my home state , I came from up North no I hate the cold so I go to the beach for Christmas I don’t need snow or ice to make me love Christmas the sand and sun make my Christmas real happy and my palm tree Christmas lights are great ,as far as the bumper sticker they have up north to.as far as Wendy she has the right to say what’s on her mind that’s why we live in the good old U.S.A she only had 10 not 11 comments,! Have a great day Deb!! With all the bad things going on like 50 young people getting shot in Orlando I think we should think of then and not bash each other pray for the family’s and world peace .
Wanda, you better count again, I’m correct, there are 11 comments, not 10. And Wendy made several rude, uncaring, condescending, sarcastic, and “know it all” comments to other people’s posts that got me stirred up! She believes in “Live and let live”, and so do I. I love animals and wildlife also. God made all creatures. But the way she got on her high horse spouting basically “wildlife” comes first, made me think that she needs mental help. Her priorities are all messed up! Human life comes before any wildlife creature! I don’t think the “eco-system” would be unbalanced by an environmental plan to limit alligators and pythons and crocodiles in highly concentrated “human habitat” areas. Maybe she works at a zoo or a game preserve because she sure does have some strong beliefs. If she wanted to change other peoples minds about wildlife in Florida, she should not have been so sarcastic and condescending. Maybe you should pray for her Wanda. I just just know that if I saw a bear or a coyote attacking my grandchildren or neighbors children, it would be bye bye wildlife! You have a nice day Wanda. You seem like a caring person. And I DO pray for the Orlando victims and the parents of the baby. This is my last post, I will not be communicating further on this subject. God Bless all the innocent victims of violence in this country. We have seen far too much. I pray for it to stop. We all need more tolerance of each other. And God Bless America!!!!