Body of boy (2) taken by alligator in Orlando located

Police in Florida using boats, divers and a helicopter on Wednesday recovered the body of a two-year-old boy who was dragged into a lagoon by an alligator.

The incident happened in front of his family during a visit to Walt Disney World in Orlando.

The child was snatched as he played at the water’s edge on Tuesday night, despite his parents’ effort to save him. The alligator is believed to have been between four and seven feet long.

The boy’s father rushed into the water after the alligator struck and struggled to release his child from the alligator’s grip.

Officials are expected to hold a press conference shortly.

The local sheriff had earlier said there was no doubt that the boy had been killed in the incident.

Wildlife workers had earlier caught and killed five alligators from the lagoon to examine them for traces of the boy but found no evidence they were involved, said Nick Wiley, head of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The resort closed its beaches and recreational marinas on Wednesday as search teams had scoured the Seven Seas Lagoon, a man-made lake reaching 14 feet in depth.

The family, which was vacationing from Nebraska, was not named.

The dozens of sheriff’s deputies and wildlife officials searching for the boy on Wednesday, numbering as many as 60, had used sonar technology, helicopters and a team of divers.

Alligators are common in lakes in central Florida, but attacks are relatively rare.

Reuters