The child’s body was found not far from where he was playing in a foot of water
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has released an image of the 2-year-old toddler who was tragically snatched from his family by an alligator on Tuesday night at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando.
People reports that the child has been identified as Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Neb. His body was recovered intact after an intensive 16-hour search by air and water led by a police dive team Wednesday.
“Autopsy has to confirm, but there’s likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator,” said Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings according to People.
The child’s body was found not far from where he was playing in a foot of water at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, where he had been holidaying with his mother, father and 4-year-old sister.
“Of course, the family was distraught, but also somewhat relieved that we were able to find their son with his body intact and that his body was located so they can come to grips with what happened,” said Demings.
The search for the deadly alligator is currently under way, People says, with the executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Nick Wiley, pledging, “We’re going to do everything to make sure we have taken that alligator out.”
[People]