Alligator attacks boy at Disney's Grand Floridian..[updated: Searchers recover body of boy snatched by gator at Disney]

[Free Vulcan]

I cannot imagine as a two year old, one second walking in the water with daddy, and the next a mouthful of teeth twice your size grabs you and pulls you underwater. The terror and pain and the horrifying desperation of wanting your parents to rescue you, and it never comes.

It's hard not to break down and sob thinking about this. I hope this child is resting in the arms of Jesus.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

This is a horrible thing but parents need to be aware of these sort of dangers. They lurk everywhere.

[mystery-ak]

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

Searchers recover body of boy snatched by gator at Disney
2-year-old dragged into Seven Seas Lagoon at Grand Floridian
Posted: 10:36 PM, June 14, 2016
Updated: 4:27 PM, June 15, 2016

WALT DISNEY WORLD, Fla. - 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.

continued

[SZonian]

Terrible situation...prayers for the family and the recovery team.

[Chieftain]

Reports are that the kid's body was recovered "intact".  Lifeguard is stating the kid was 10' from shore when the 'gator took him. 

 

[mystery-ak]

My heart breaks for this family..been thinking of my 2yo grandson all day..

[geronl]

Wading into the water there is against the rules, signs are posted all over.

[SZonian]

Reports are that the kid's body was recovered "intact".  Lifeguard is stating the kid was 10' from shore when the 'gator took him. 

 

Not quibbling with you Chieftan, but that does not compute.

If it is/was posted as a no swimming area, why the Lifeguard?

If there were a Lifeguard on duty and he noted the dad and son 10' out, why didn't he get them the hell back to shore?

[mystery-ak]

Wading into the water there is against the rules, signs are posted all over.

I've stayed at the Contemporary Resort on the same lagoon....I sure don't remember any signs and we were down on waters edge a lot...only lifeguards I saw were in the pool area ....one of my  great nephews would sit and play in the sand at waters edge..I get chills now thinking of it.

[mirraflake]

Not quibbling with you Chieftan, but that does not compute.

If it is/was posted as a no swimming area, why the Lifeguard?

If there were a Lifeguard on duty and he noted the dad and son 10' out, why didn't he get them the hell back to shore?

Because DW is in a no win situation due to greedy lawyers. If they had the sign no swimming and no lifeguard, if someone drowned the greedy shark lawyers would sue DW for not having a lifeguard on duty.

[goatprairie]

@geronl

I live in Tampa.  Gators really aren't an issue unless someone feeds them.   Most of the time you won't even see them.   It is not wise to splash around at the waters edge though.   The trouble with ponds like this is the gators become used to people and lose their fear.   I think the parks actually like them because tourists get excited at seeing a real gator.

Two years ago the wife and I drove the length of Florida from the western end into the Keys. My son-in-law, who had visited Florida a short time before had told use we'd see numerous gators.
 This was late September early October. So the first night we stayed in Tallahassee. The next day we took off on a two lane highway on the west side of the state. Just outside of Tallahassee we saw a dead baby gator on the highway.  I rubbed my hands with glee....oh boy, I was going to see a lot of gators.
The next gator I saw was not until we reached the Everglades. This was after being in the state two weeks which included four or five days at DisneyWorld.  We basically crisscrossed the state going by many swamps, ponds, and places where gators are said to be.
But it wasn't until we got to the Everglades that we even saw a few gators.
I was then informed by park rangers that it's usually not until November that gators start sunning themselves by the sides of the roads within view of tourists.
Oh well, better luck next time. Maybe the next time we visit we'll go in November.

[SirLinksALot]

SOURCE: Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/2016/06/15/disney-world-alligator-attack-body-found/


LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings says searchers have recovered the body of a 2-year-old Nebraska boy snatched by an alligator at Walt Disney World.

The boy was attacked Tuesday night as he waded in shallow water at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian resort.

Demings identified the boy as Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska.

The search team grew to 50 people Wednesday as trappers and divers searched Disney’s network of man-made canals, ponds and lakes. At least five other alligators were caught and cut open before they found the killer.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings says a dive team found the remains of 2-year-old Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday — that’s about 16 hours after an alligator snatched the toddler at Walt Disney World.

Demings said the body was found “completely intact,” just 10 to 15 yards from where the boy was attacked, in about 6 feet of water.

He said they had to use sonar to find the body in the murky water.

The sheriff declined to respond to repeated questions about whether Disney World should clarify its warning signs at the manmade lake. The beachside warnings say “no swimming,” but don’t mention the threat of alligators or say even wading is risky.

[WAC]

Relief for the parents no doubt.  Glad they found the lad!

[Timber Rattler]

That's what gators do...grab their prey, pull it under the water, roll to disorient and drown, and then stash somewhere for later consumption.

[mystery-ak]

Just heartbreaking...prayers for that baby's family..how they will get through this is beyond me.

[Chieftain]

Because DW is in a no win situation due to greedy lawyers. If they had the sign no swimming and no lifeguard, if someone drowned the greedy shark lawyers would sue DW for not having a lifeguard on duty.

One of the locals was quoted saying that at night it looks like Jurassic Park in that area. 

Gators feed at night.  If that kid was 2' off shore wading and splashing, he was making live bait noises right in front of a predatory reptile more than capable of taking him whole, as we see.  They might as well have dragged a whole chicken back and forth in the water.

Recall the article Machiavelli posted here just a couple of weeks ago, about Florida Fish & Wildlife confirming they have caught three Nile Crocodiles in the Florida Everglades in the past few years.  Crocs are even bigger and much more aggressive than a gator ever dreamed of being.  A croc can take a whole wildebeest; it should be no surprise to anyone at DW that a gator can easily take a toddler.

That lifeguard could not possibly have been prepared to deal with something like this.  I see big lawsuits with enormous cash awards for Mom and Dad.  Never mind that they let their 2 year old kid go wading with the alligators in the first place.

"Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime: the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity." --  Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

This time, Mom and Dad being stupid cost little Junior his life.  chomp, chomp....

 

[debrawiest]

My heart breaks for this family..been thinking of my 2yo grandson all day..

I feel the same way. I immediately thought of my nearly 2-year old grandson and how I could possibly go on if this had been him, not to mention how would I be able to console my daughter and her husband.  Knowing what Scripture says about Jesus' love for little children brings comfort. Praying for this family, for the parents, for their marriage. So many marriages end after the loss of a child.

[WAC]

One of the locals was quoted saying that at night it looks like Jurassic Park in that area. 

Gators feed at night.  If that kid was 2' off shore wading and splashing, he was making live bait noises right in front of a predatory reptile more than capable of taking him whole, as we see.  They might as well have dragged a whole chicken back and forth in the water.

Recall the article Machiavelli posted here just a couple of weeks ago, about Florida Fish & Wildlife confirming they have caught three Nile Crocodiles in the Florida Everglades in the past few years.  Crocs are even bigger and much more aggressive than a gator ever dreamed of being.  A croc can take a whole wildebeest; it should be no surprise to anyone at DW that a gator can easily take a toddler.

That lifeguard could not possibly have been prepared to deal with something like this.  I see big lawsuits with enormous cash awards for Mom and Dad.  Never mind that they let their 2 year old kid go wading with the alligators in the first place.

"Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime: the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity." --  Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

This time, Mom and Dad being stupid cost little Junior his life.  chomp, chomp....

 

Unfortunately your right. ...and the parents will be wise to settle with Disney before any court proceedings. Nasty business to parade it before a public who will not be kind no matter what side they take....

Any water area is risky under normal conditions......especially with a toddler.  But at night in an area strange to me???  As a parent I would not have done so even without the Alligator issue. 

[musiclady]

Just heartbreaking...prayers for that baby's family..how they will get through this is beyond me.

I've been thinking the same thing, mystery.  How do you get through something like this?  This is so heart-wrenching!

[240B]

So, many questions.

What was the child doing playing in a posted 'no swimming' area at night?
Why was there a lifeguard on duty in a no swimming area at night?
Why did the lifeguard not tell the child to get out of the no swimming area?
Where were the parents? What were they doing? Did they know what the child was doing?
Why is the body intact with so many alligators and other carnivores in the general area?
Are there any bite marks or other injuries on the child from being pulled away by the alligator?

And that is just off the top of head for starters. I could come up with many more questions if I really thought about it. There are too many coincidences in this case that have to be resolved before we will know the whole story. The story now, as it is being presented, doesn't make a whole lot of common sense.

[Neverdul]

Not quibbling with you Chieftan, but that does not compute.

If it is/was posted as a no swimming area, why the Lifeguard?

If there were a Lifeguard on duty and he noted the dad and son 10' out, why didn't he get them the hell back to shore?

If you look at the map of the area posted at The Daily Mail, there is a swimming pool located very near the “beach” and that is where I presume the lifeguard(s) were.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3645000/Mom-posts-eerie-photos-son-standing-exact-spot-Lane-Graves-killed-alligator-just-ONE-HOUR-later.html

As to the claim of the kid being 10’ out in the water from the sand line, the only source I’ve seen for this was also The Daily Mail who claimed to have interviewed a lifeguard. But as much as I like The Daily Mail sometimes, and they do post some great pictures, their reporting is sometimes questionable.

All the other reports I’ve read said the kid and his father were in ankle deep water and only about a foot in from the sand line. Sort like this:



As to this supposed and unnamed lifeguard who told the Daily Mail that the kid was 10’ from the shore, that doesn’t make sense since the parents and the witnesses all said they had to yell and get the attention of one of the lifeguards, presumably from the adjacent pool to come help once the kid was dragged into the water by the gator.

By that time the dad had gone in the water after his son and was trying to fight the gator and get his son from its grip and by that time the dad was probably at least 10’ from the shore trying to rescue his son.

[driftdiver]

So, many questions.

What was the child doing playing in a posted 'no swimming' area at night?
Why was there a lifeguard on duty in a no swimming area at night?
Why did the lifeguard not tell the child to get out of the no swimming area?
Where were the parents? What were they doing? Did they know what the child was doing?
Why is the body intact with so many alligators and other carnivores in the general area?
Are there any bite marks or other injuries on the child from being pulled away by the alligator?

And that is just off the top of head for starters. I could come up with many more questions if I really thought about it. There are too many coincidences in this case that have to be resolved before we will know the whole story. The story now, as it is being presented, doesn't make a whole lot of common sense.

They were on vacation at the "Happiest Place on Earth" which also happens to be a fully managed environment where they advertise their environment as safe.  The water was a few feet from their room.   A reasonable person would have an expectation of safety at that location.   Any person who lives in Florida could have told them it was risky but with them being from nebraska they had no idea what risk they were taking.

I've dove in natural springs where gators were less than 50 feet away.  I've kayaked in the everglades and in rivers.  Never had a problem as the gators are not usually aggressive towards people.  Someone probably fed this alligator a few times which lowered its fear of people.

Disney probably wanted the alligators there.  Tourists love to come to Florida and see 'wild alligators'. 

[mystery-ak]

I've been thinking the same thing, mystery.  How do you get through something like this?  This is so heart-wrenching!

I told myself I wasn't going to look at this thread anymore since this is all I have been thinking about..it really hits home because I have a 2yo grandson.

I also know exactly where this happened...all the resort hotels back up to the lagoon and this could have happened at any of them.

[musiclady]

I told myself I wasn't going to look at this thread anymore since this is all I have been thinking about..it really hits home because I have a 2yo grandson.

I also know exactly where this happened...all the resort hotels back up to the lagoon and this could have happened at any of them.

I can imagine the terror you feel having been there, and with a beautiful little grandson.  It's horrifying.

I've been praying for these parents, and for this little boy's 4 year old sister.  It must be horrid for her too.