(Newswire.net — June 16, 2016) —During a news conference on Wednesday, Sheriff Jerry Demings said that the 2 year-old boy, Lane Graves, who was snatched by an alligator into a lagoon near the Walt Disney World hotel, has been found dead.
The body of the boy was found near where the boy was grabbed Tuesday night, while he was walking on the beach with his parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, who are from Elkhorn, Nebraska.
According to the police statement, his body had only a few puncture wounds and he likely drowned, an autopsy will have to confirm that.
More than 50 wildlife specialists, including an alligator tamer, helped search the lake at the Disney World resort hotel, looking for the two year-old boy who was snatched by the alligator during a movie night at the Grand Floridian resort.
Before the incident, the parents had been resting on the coast near the Seven Seas Lagoon. The child walked into the shallow end of the water, along the shore of the lake, when he was attacked by the alligator.
The boy’s father responded quickly, rushing into the water and tried to pry his son from the alligator’s jaw, said the Sheriff, adding that the father suffered minor scratches on his hands trying to save his son. The child’s mother has also entered the water, trying to find the child.
When the couple was unable to pull their son to safety, they alerted a nearby lifeguard who called 911. According to Sheriff Demings, the couple from Nebraska, have two more children.
The Sheriff also added that there had been no presence of alligators in the area lately.
Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission who spearheaded the search, said that people, even small people, are not prey of choice for the American alligator. He added that he thinks that this one probably confused the small child for a dog or a raccoon as alligators do not typically feed on humans.
CBS12 News reported that a search team has removed four alligators from the lagoon but found no evidence that this alligator was involved.