Boy, 2 who died in Disney World lagoon was paddling with his parents 10 feet beyond no swimming signs when the beast snatched him
Lane Graves died after being grabbed by the reptile and dragged underwater
A TODDLER who died after being grabbed by an alligator at Disney World resort yesterday had been paddling with his parents 10 FEET beyond the "no swimming" signs.
Lane Graves died after being grabbed by the reptile and dragged underwater as he played with parents Matthew, 42, and Melissa, 38.
A large-scale operation was underway yesterday to try and find the little boy, whose intact body was discovered 17 hours later.
It has since emerged he was playing with his company executive dad and mum, despite "no swimming" signs being close by.
Disney has come under fire as despite the "no swimming" signs, there were none warning of alligators.
The toddler's whole remains were recovered by an Orange County dive team, not far from where he was grabbed on Tuesday night.
Sheriff Jerry Demings, who led the hunt, said "there was likely no question... the child was drowned by an alligator".
The boy's parents, from Elkhorn, Nebraska, have been confirmed as Matt and Melissa Graves.
They were on the third day of their family holiday at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa with Lane and his two siblings when tragedy struck.
Eyewitnesses described how Lane's dad Matt desperately tried to pry his son from the gator's grasp after it grabbed him.
His parents were said to be distraught but relieved the hunt did not become a protracted search.
Lane's body was found after a Disney lifeguard revealed the boy was wading in the water 10 feet from shore when he was snatched.
It was previously reported he was paddling at the edge of the Lagoon with his mum when tragedy struck.
The Seven Seas Lagoon has clear "no swimming" signs posted around it, but no alligator warnings.
A priest joined the police officer to break the news to the toddler's devastated Catholic parents.
Anna Shymanski, a friend and coworker of Matt Graves, said she was "stunned and heartbroken" by Lane's death.
"Matt's family is the light of his life," she told the Sentinel. "And his family's anguish is our own."
Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Bob Iger called Lane's devastated family and also issued a statement offering his condolences.
He said: "As a parent and a grandparent, my heart goes out to the Graves family during this time of devastating loss."
"My thoughts and prayers are with them, and I know everyone at Disney joins me in offering our deepest sympathies."
Eyewitnesses saw the boy's dad desperately try to free his son from the gator's grasp as he was pulled underwater on Tuesday night.
Petrified Matthew, 42, who had been on the beach nearby was dragged into the water as he desperately tried to free his son from the creature's jaws.
Onlookers described the terrified dad jumping in "and literally trying to fight the gator off".
The rest of Lane's family alerted a lifeguard while his dad wrestled the beast, thought to have been between four and seven ft long.
After hours of searching yesterday Sheriff Demmings admitted they were looking for a body, adding "it's certainly not survivable" to be underwater for so long.
The family were staying at the fife-star Grand Floridian Hotel, which is across the lagoon from the Magic Kingdom Park and a popular holiday destination for Brits.
Four alligators were killed yesterday in the hunt for Lane.
Wildlife officials captured and euthanised the reptiles from the lagoon to examine them for traces of the child but found no evidence they were involved, said Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
He later said the alligator may have already been caught, but did not confirm this.
Wiley added: "We're going to make certain that we have the alligator that was involved and remove it from the lake."
Disney World yesterday closed beaches "in an abundance of caution" as divers hunted for Lane.
Jeff Williamson, a spokesman for the esterday warned his family to "prepare for the worst, hope for the best".
Brit family 'chased by alligator' at same resort
A BRIT family has come forward to say they were chased by an alligator at the Grand Floridian resort just weeks ago.
Carl and Karen Davies, from Liverpool, were relaxing on a beach at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort when a huge alligator appeared.
The "huge" gator "lurched" at the family as they prepared to watch the nightly fireworks show on the sand.
After a family of Canadians screamed "alligator!" the family sprinted to safety with their 10-year-old son and daughter.
Fortunately the family escaped unharmed, but their daughter was left petrified of the beach for the rest of their two-week trip.
The family's terrifying ordeal happened on April 5 as they enjoyed a break at the five-star resort.
He said he was shocked the alligator could get so close to families at a resort with lots of children, who are unable to read "no swimming" signs.
Reddit user Mustaberdashery witnessed the horror unfold at the hotel and detailed what happened in a post.
They said: "I'm currently staying at the grand Floridian. I was walking back from a nearby hotel, the Polynesian, when the incident occurred. I only personally saw the tears and the search, but have heard from others experiences:
"There was a movie night scheduled, and about 15 minutes prior to its start, people were out on this 'beach' area which is really a sandy area on the edge of a large freshwater lake.
"The 2yr old was playing in the edge of the water, near some weeds, but otherwise not really anything crazy. The gator came out of the weeds and quickly grabbed the child. The father apparently attacked the gator (and his clothes were wet, so I have no reason not to believe that) and tried to fight it to get his child back but the gator was able to get away.
How common are alligator attacks?
THERE are around 1.3 million alligators in Florida but attacks on humans are fairly rare.
Despite this, today's tragedy comes just one week after a man's body was found in the jaws of an alligator in Lakeland, Florida.
There are roughly a dozen attacks a year in Florida, and about 20 of them in the past 40 years have been fatal.
Alligators can grow up to 14 feet and weigh up to 500 pounds. They have between 74 and 80 teeth.
They generally shy away from humans but can get very defensive and aggressive if they feel threatened.
Humans are advised to keep away from alligators, especially at night when they normally feed.
They will eat just about anything, but their primary diet includes turtles, fish, birds, mammals and amphibians.
If you are attacked you should fight back with anything available or try to gouge their snout and eyes.
"Since then, they have been looking for the gator and child. First hour and a half seemed to be primarily right around the shoreline, but they have since opened up the search and the helicopter is now circling the lake."
They added: "My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and all those affected. It's an incredible tragedy and I hope Orlando can catch a break here soon.
"As of 1am EST, the helicopter has stopped, there are only a few security guards out in the taped off beach, and everything is quiet. From what I heard, nothing recovered so far."
The user also described how the boy's dad "jumped in after her trying to literally fight a gator to save his [son]".
More than 50 officers were yesterday searching the reptile-infested waters for the tot.
Authorities were pictured sealing off the area with crime-scene tape and searching the water by helicopter and by boat.
Guests were asked to leave the hotel balcony overlooking the scene while they carried out a hunt for the young boy.
Twitter users have responded to the horror online, with Christian writing: "Just overheard a group talking about how the father was wrestling with the alligator. This just gets worse and worse."
He said there was a "movie night" on the beach on Tuesday night, which is where the alligator may have attacked the toddler before dragging the child into the lagoon.
Others claimed the family had been watching a fireworks display, which began at 9pm and lasted about 12 minutes.
A hotel spokesman declined to comment on the horror.
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The Grand Floridian is an upscale luxury resort owned by Disney. It is one of three hotels on the monorail line, just one stop away from the Magic Kingdom Park.
The tragedy is the latest of three horrors to rock the state of Orlando in a matter of days.
Pop star Christina Grimmie was murdered after a concert on Friday night and 49 people were killed by a gunman at Pulse gay club in the early hours of Sunday morning.
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