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BREAKING NEWS: Body of Toddler Snatched by Alligator at Disney World Recovered

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Home / News / BREAKING NEWS: Body of Toddler Snatched by Alligator at Disney World Recovered

The heartbreaking story out of Disney World of the two-year-old child who was attacked by an alligator has come to a sad conclusion. At approximately 9:30 pm, Tuesday night a young boy vacationing with his family was grabbed and dragged into the Seven Seas Lagoon at the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World. Search and rescue efforts have been underway since that time.

At approximately 9:30 pm Tuesday evening, an alligator grabbed hold of a two-year-old child on the beach of the Seven Seas Lagoon at the Grand Floridian Resort. The beach was sealed off while search and rescue efforts were made to find the child.

Authorities reported Wednesday afternoon that the incident was “not survivable” and the search effort had shifted to a recovery operation. Authorities further vowed they would not leave until the body of the boy was recovered. More than 50 wildlife experts including trained alligator trappers were involved in the search. That operation has now come to a close. The body of the child has been found.

The incident happened at the edge of the water in the area where movies are shown nightly on the beach. Witnesses said the father and the boy were wading at the edge of the water while other members of the family were about 20 to 30 yards from the water on the sand, according to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

Both father and mother entered the water to attempt to wrestle the child away from the alligator but were unsuccessful. Demings said the father was injured in the attack as well. The alligator is reported to be 7 to 8 feet in length.

The family of five was visiting from Nebraska and had been staying at the resort for several days.

Disney World announced early Wednesday morning it was closing all beaches at all resorts out of an abundance of caution. They also closed all marinas and water transportation around the Magic Kingdom resort area. Additional bus transportation was added to accommodate guests visiting Magic Kingdom.

Disney World has a policy (which is standard in the central Florida area) of removing and relocating alligators over a certain size or animals that show any sort of aggression. Disney also warns people not to feed wildlife. One employee at the resort who did not want to be identified said in an email to the Orlando Sentinel, “There is such a problem on property with guests feeding the alligators thinking it’s cool.”

While alligators are abundant in Florida, attacks are rare. “We have not had any recent reports or complaints of nuisance gators in the area,” Demings said.  There are “No Swimming” signs at the lagoon and no one else was in the water at the time of the attack besides the child, Demings said. This body of water is not for recreational swimming “likely for that very reason. This is Florida and it’s not uncommon for alligators to be in bodies of water,” Demings said.

“Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by this tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the family. We are helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law enforcement,” said Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt Disney World Resort.

This incident is the latest in a horrible week for Orlando with the murder of 22-year-old Voice Star Christina Grimmie who was shot outside a concert venue while signing autographs and the brutal attack at the Orlando nightclub, Pulse which resulted in the death of 49 people.

Please be careful around the water’s edge when visiting Florida. Alligators are abundant and are a threat to small children and pets. Alligators are in nearly all bodies of water in Florida (including at Disney World) and regularly travel from lake to lake.

Husband, father and lover of all things Disney. Like every kid, I loved Disney and the couple trips I took to Disney World in my early years are good memories. But my obsession began in 2004 when we made our first family visit. It\'s hard to believe that we almost cancelled the trip because it seemed like a lot of work with 3 very little kids. We were hooked by the end of the first day. By day 3 we were planning our next trip back. By day 5 we were doing the math on DVC. And by the end of the vacation everyone was crying the blues that we had to leave. Since then, Disney World has become our favorite vacation destination, a hobby and now a home. We love the detail of the story telling and the memories of time spent with friends and family.

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