Toddler dragged into water by alligator at Disney resort believed to be dead

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post

Authorities are now focused on recovering the body of the 2-year-old boy snatched by an alligator at a Disney resort near Orlando, saying Wednesday that it’s highly unlikely the boy survived.

“There is no question we will lose the 2-year-old child,” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said at a midday news conference. “It’s now been 15 hours since the child has been taken into the water. We are working on recovering the body of the child at this point.”

He added: “Our ultimate goal is to try and bring some closure to this family by bringing home their loved one.”

The toddler’s parents watched Tuesday night as the alligator grabbed their son and dragged him deeper into the water, officials said. The father, who was not identified, rushed in and grabbed desperately for his son; he cut his hand but was unable to save the boy.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/15/nebraska-toddler-dragged-into-water-by-alligator-at-disney-resort-in-orlando/

[uppityperson]

1. I can not imagine the horror for the child or for the parents

[DawgHouse]

2. Poor baby.

I feel so sorry for his parents and sibling.

[PJMcK]

3. That poor family will be haunted forever

My heart breaks for them to have witnessed this tragedy. This memory will never leave them and I'm deeply saddened by their loss.

Years ago, when my son was about 5 or 6, I had a sailboat in its cradle in our backyard. One spring, when the boat mover came to haul the boat to our marina, I told my son to watch from the patio above. As the boatman was winching the boat onto his trailer, the cradle cracked and the boat very quickly crashed onto her port side. Had anyone been standing next to it, they would have been crushed by the 5,000 pound boat. I've had nightmares ever since that my young boy was standing there when the boat fell over.

I can only imagine the terror and sadness this family will have to endure.

[SpankMe]

4. Fuck! This is heartbreaking. I cry for the parents. n/t

[niyad]

5. my heart goes out to that poor family. now, my question is, what in the HELL was an

alligator doing in a disney pond, lake, whatever?

[The CCC]

6. my heart goes out to that poor family. now, my question is, what in the HELL was an

Alligators are a continuing problem in being where people are at the same time. They like just about any body of water.

[muntrv]

29. There are canals that feed into the lake and gators travel through them.

[muntrv]

30. How to avoid a gator attack.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/avoid-alligator-attack-165511774.html

[jmowreader]

33. Better way to avoid a gator attack

Don't go to Florida.

[muntrv]

35. ..or Georgia or Louisiana.

[snooper2]

7. Yeah, Disney has a private lake stocked with alligators for visitors

[LanternWaste]

12. Creative, though inaccurate inference for more efficient and petulant eye-rolling techniques.

Creative, though inaccurate inference for more efficient and petulant eye-rolling techniques.

[Nihil]

34. Remember: Pointless snark always works better if you repeat it.

Remember: Pointless snark always works better if you repeat it.

[TBA]

8. In Florida you have to assume any body of water has gators in it.

And they move from one to another. They are very hard to spot.

So sad. I lost my poodle to a gator when I was 13.

[mnhtnbb]

9. Alligators were in Florida long before Disney built there.

It's a wildlife management challenge to resorts and anyone who resides in Florida.

http://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/gators/

Alligators have now made their way as far north as North Carolina.

One was photographed sunning itself on the banks of the Intracoastal Waterway of Emerald Isle, NC this spring.

[Duval]

21. Good grief!

We vacationed there for years. It's lovely, but the rip tide can be very dangerous.

[geek tragedy]

14. alligators go wherever there is water, real question is why didn't Disney have adequate

warning signs, I hardly doubt grounds crews had never seen them there before

[csziggy]

19. Alligators are everywhere in Florida

I live in North Florida on a 200 ft above sea level ridge with lakes on one side and a swamp and stream system on the other. The two water areas are almost a half mile apart. I've had alligators on the TOP of our ridge halfway between the two water systems. Usually they are 4-6 feet long and clearly relocating from one system to the other.

I've seen alligators on the roads here a couple of miles from the nearest water. They travel even when they don't have water to use as a path.

Now the Disney World facility is on what was originally oak scrub land, low lying with a ground water table only a few feet below the ground surface. To construct the park they dug out that nearly flat land, put in lakes, canals and drainage and used the material dug out to raise the ground level. They had to connect their artificial lakes to the local water sources which were already populated with alligators. The alligators freely travel between the Disney fake lakes and the natural areas.

In the mid 1960s when they started planning and construction, alligators were considered endangered so they had to relocate the animals. Disney has always had management plans to handle nuisance gators, but they cannot eradicate them - by law or in practicality.

[Sand Rat Expat]

22. From all I've read...

The lagoon is connected to other waterways and marshland, and there hasn't been any mention in the press about gates or any other barrier to keep wildlife out. It'd have to be a pretty substantial barrier system, I'd imagine.

Some press reports (CNN, I think) mentioned that there were many No Swimming signs all around the lagoon, though the reports I've read have also stated that the poor kid was pretty much right at the water's edge, so it's not as if he was out splashing around.

I imagine there'll be a lawsuit coming in the near future. I'm not sure how I feel about that, honestly. There hadn't been a gator incident before this, at least not that I've been able to find any references to, so absent that massive barrier system I referred to earlier, I'm not sure what more Disney could have reasonably done here.

[LeftyMom]

24. It's Florida. Any body of water without a drain and a soap dish has alligators in it.

[greymattermom]

10. They have the area set up like a beach

with sand brought in. It looks like you're supposed to be able to go into the water, not like a swampy lake. The only signs are no swimming, but most people would think wading would be ok. This is awful and Disney is at fault.

[Sand Rat Expat]

23. What more could Disney have done?

They had signs up advising that swimming was prohibited. One report I read indicated that a lifeguard was present and tried to help the parents retrieve the poor little guy from the gator after it grabbed him, so it wasn't as if there were no safety personnel assigned to the lagoon.

For practical reasons the lagoon is connected to other waterways in the area, and even if it weren't, gators will traverse fair distances to relocate from one area to another. To keep gators and other wildlife out, there'd have to be a massive system of underwater and land barriers, which the state may not have even allowed given the environment. An expert quoted in a Washington Post article summed it up as "It's really impossible to keep them out of any body of water. Something like this is likely no one's fault. This is bad luck, unfortunate circumstances."

I don't doubt there'll be a lawsuit, and I don't doubt Disney will settle with the family because of the optics alone. It's worth noting that in nearly 50 years of operation, there's never been an alligator attack at Disneyworld until now. As heartbreaking as it is, I think it's bad luck beyond anyone's control.

[LeftyMom]

25. What kind of idiot would go wading when a sign says no swimming?

You don't know if the reason you're supposed to stay out is disease (a real possibility in Florida) or alligators (ditto) or brain eating amoeba (yes, really) or broken beer bottles or some animal's breeding season or what.

It's Disney. Your hotel has a pool.

edit: What is the sign supposed to say? "No Swimming. No wading. Not even a dipping your toes. Yes you. You in the ill fitting trunks. Get your baby out of here before gators eat it. Yes really. NOW!!!" in 47 languages and with a speaker in case you can't read and with flashing lights in case you're distracted?

[catnhatnh]

11. That headline is poorly written...

is it the toddler, the alligator, or the Disney resort that is believed to be dead?

[unblock]

26. like the classic, "vase for sale by lady, slightly cracked"

[rocktivity]

13. Is there any reason to believe that there is anything TO recover?

After 15 hours, you would think that what the alligator didn't get, its fellow carnivorous denizens of the deep did.

Also, I've been presuming that the alligator came ashore since swimming isn't allowed. Was the child on shore or wading?


rocktivity

[Baclava]

16. Wading, at night

"The boy's family was at movie night outdoors at the Grand Floridian resort when around 9 p.m. the boy waded into about a foot of water in a lagoon, authorities have said. Witnesses, including the boy's horrified parents, tried to save him. His father jumped in and tried to pry the gator's mouth open. His mother jumped in, too.But it was too late. The child was dragged underwater"

[B2G]

17. On shore according to this updated report:

In response to reports the family was watching a hotel-sponsored movie near the shore, Disney said it hosts such events but believed the film ended before the attack. The family was sitting near the shore, not swimming or wading in the water, officials said.


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-child-dragged-alligator-disney-20160614-story.html

[That Guy 888]

31. According to some random nature show I don't remember...

Alligators cache their prey under water, wedged under a log or something to keep it from floating away. The alligators leave it like that for a while to let the their food get broken down, and come back to eat it after several days.

I knew they wouldn't recover the little guy alive when I heard the story last night.

[justamama83]

15. CNN breaking news....

The boy's body has been recovered. Waiting for presser now.

[vkkv]

18. Geeez, how very sad.. omg..

[Duval]

20. How terrible.

I cannot imagine being one of his parents. I hope an outpouring of love and support comes from thousands.

[notadmblnd]

27. It was reported about 4pm that they found the child's body

about 50 yards out and in 6 ft of water. The body was intact (not eaten). Parents have been notified. They have removed five gators from the lake and will euthanize them. They continue to search for more alligators.

[PoliticAverse]

28. Update: Searchers recover body of boy snatched by gator at Disney

The body of a 2-year-old boy who was dragged by an alligator into a lagoon at a Disney resort was recovered Wednesday, according to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

The alligator, estimated to be up to 7 feet long, snatched Lane Graves around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in a sandy waterfront area outside the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World near the Seven Seas Lagoon.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office dive team located the body around 1:45 p.m. and recovered it intact about 2 hours later, Demings said. The body was about 15 yards offshore when it was found in the waterway, which is about 6 feet deep.

Read the rest at:
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/deputies-still-searching-for-missing-2-year-old-boy-dragged-into-water-by-alligator-at-disney

[NWCorona]

32. I have avoided this story. I just can't bring myself to read it

But my heart hangs so heavy.... As a father I just can't imagine.

Condolences