Horror At Disney World As 2-Year-Old Boy Is Dragged Into A Lagoon By An Alligator

Search and rescue crews continued to comb a lake at the Walt Disney World Resort Wednesday morning, hours after a two-year-old boy was dragged into the water by an alligator 

A two-year-old boy is missing after he was dragged into a lagoon by an alligator at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando - despite his father's frantic attempts to wrestle his son from the reptile's jaws. The boy was dragged into the Seven Seas Lagoon near the high-end Grand Floridian Resort & Spa around 9:20pm on Tuesday as he paddled in a foot of water with his parents and four-year-old sister - despite ‘no swimming’ signs being posted nearby.

Officials have not yet identified the boy or his family, who are from Nebraska. At a press conference Wednesday morning, officials said that they had caught four alligators in the lake overnight - but not the gator that snatched the boy 

Gators are a somewhat common sighting on the Walt Disney World properties, which are located in Florida swampland. Above, the Grand Floridian Resort, where the boy was snatched 
Sheriffs say there is little hope of finding the boy alive after his father’s unsuccessful struggle with the seven-foot reptile, which also left him with lacerations to his arm. Wildlife officers on Wednesday morning confirmed that they had already captured and killed four alligators in the lagoon while searching for the child, but none of them were the one that grabbed the boy. It is not known if the child or his family are guests at the hotel, where prices were standard rooms start from $569 per night. 


New sheriff's deputies were brought in Wednesday morning to bring 'new eyes' to the search, on the ground and in the air. Alligator trappers and divers were also called in to help.  

Earlier, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the toddler, who was part of a family of five, arrived in Orlando on vacation from Nebraska on Sunday. He told a news conference last night that the parents and their three children had been on the beach at the time of the attack. Demings said:

Gators are removed from the property if they get too large or wander near guest properties. Above, search efforts on Wednesday

Gators are removed from the property if they get too large or wander near guest properties. Above, search efforts on Wednesday

'The father entered the water and tried to grab the child but he was not successful in doing so. I'm told that at some point, the mother also entered the water.'

He said that the family had been enjoying a 'movie night' and the child had been in a play pen.

Later, as the boy played, he waded in about one foot of water with his mother and the alligator - believed to be anywhere between four and seven feet long - attacked.

'As they waded into the water along the lake's edge at the time, that's when the alligator attacked,' he said. 


Alligator trappers and even dive teams were called in to help look for the missing boy 
He added that the family alerted a nearby lifeguard but they were not able to save the boy. The father was left with scratches after the ordeal.

'We are not leaving until we recover the child,' Demings added, saying there were more than 50 law enforcement personnel who are actively searching the lake.

'The sad reality of it is it's been several hours and we're not likely going to recover a live body,’ he added.

The boy was snatched in front of the Grand Floridian Resort, one of two hotels on the lake. Above, is an aerial view of the Polynesian Village hotel on Wednesday during the search efforts 

An aerial image showing the spot on the beach where the two-year-old boy had been wading in the water before he was snatched by an alligator 

The child had been paddling with his parents and four-year-old sister despite the 'no swimming' signs, pictured, which were posted nearby. However,the signs do not warn that alligators might be in the lagoon 

Police sealed off the area where the boy was grabbed by the reptile and dragged into the Seven Seas Lagoon 

The boy was dragged into the Seven Seas Lagoon near the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa around 9.20pm on Tuesday. Above, police officers and emergency teams at the scene

A two-year-old boy was dragged into the water by an alligator near a Disney World hotel in Orlando - despite his desperate father's attempts to wrestle his son from the reptile's jaws

Police officers search for a child who was reportedly being pulled into the water by an alligator near Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando

Authorities were pictured sealing off the beach area with crime-scene tape (above) after the attack 

The family had alerted a nearby lifeguard but they were not able to save the boy, authorities said

A crowd gathered at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon near the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa after the child went missing

One hotel guest said that there was a 'movie night' on the beach on Tuesday night which is where the child was attacked by the alligator

Guests were all asked to leave a hotel balcony overlooking the area by staff, a man named Christian said