ORLANDO authorities have taken four alligators from the Disney lagoon where a young boy was snatched and euthanised them for analysis with no trace of the child found.
“We’ve already taken four alligators but we couldn’t find any evidence they were involved,” Nick Wiley from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation said in a press conference.
“They have to be euthanised to be analysed.”
“It’s too early to focus on what may have happened, we still just need to focus on trying to find the child,” he said.
“The daylight hours will help. Alligators are still active, we’ll be able to see more and we’ll be able to observe more.”
Overnight more than 50 police and two marine officers searched for a two-year-old child who was dragged into the water by an alligator during a movie night at a popular Disney resort in Orlando.
Orange Countty Sheriff spokesman Jeff Williamson said the search is still in “embryonic” stages and there has been no sign of the child.
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| Alligator drags child into lake near Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa |
He also confirmed a “struggle did ensue” as the father tried to save his son.
“They are very shaken up ... It is tragic, it’s just simply heartbreaking, there is no other way to say it.”
On Tuesday Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the child was snatched while on holiday with his mother, father and two siblings from Nebraska.
The family checked into the resort on June 12 and the boy was playing at the water’s edge in about one foot of water when the alligator stuck, according to eyewitnesses at the scene.
Sheriff Demings confirmed the father had jumped in and tried to wrestle the child from the alligator but was unable to.
“We’ll be out throughout the night and morning continuing the search until we’re able to have a peaceful successful resolution,” Sheriff Demings said.
“For the family we are hopeful we are able to locate the child.”
Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahaler said everyone at the resort was devastated by what happened and Disney is helping the family.
When asked if Disney was aware of alligators on the property, Wahaler advised there were signs that said “no swimming.” Demings said there had been no other recent reports of similar alligator attacks on the lake.
Police said witnesses described the alligator as being between four and seven feet long.
Sheriff Demings said the father suffered from minor scratches on his hands and believed the mother also entered the water at one point in a desperate attempt to retrieve their child.
The couple raised the alarm with lifeguards but by that time the alligator had disappeared with the child.
A 911 call was received at 9.16pm local time.
“As a father, as a grandfather we’re going to hope for the best but based upon my 35 years in law enforcement, we know we have some challenges ahead at this time,” Sheriff Demings said.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the search will not stop until the boy is found.Source:Supplied
‘MY HEART IS SHATTERED’
Katherine White Popp, whose room is directly outside where the child was taken, said she overheard the mother’s screams.
“Just heard the mother grieving her baby. My heart is shattered. I’m standing outside watching them search for someone’s baby,” she wrote on Twitter.
Ms Popp, who is visiting the resort, said the search party was growing by the minute.
Staff at the resort were unwilling to comment on the incident.
Several people on social media said the child was on the beach at the time watching a movie.
A.J. Jain, a guest at the hotel, told The Orlando Sentinel he and his family were playing at the beach just hours earlier.
“I’m just here to say a prayer,” he said. “I can’t imagine what those parents are going through. “It’s been one tough week in Orlando.”
In the past week The Voice singer Christina Gimme was shot dead and 49 people were also killed in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub by gunman Omar Mateen in a terror attack.
The hotel is an upscale luxury resort owned by Disney and is one of three hotels on the monorail line.
It is just one stop from the Magic Kingdom Park and the Seven Seas Lagoon is popular with water lovers and boating enthusiasts. The resort’s beach pool is directly next to the lake and overlooks the Seven Seas Lagoon.
Alexander DeMella, who was watching the events unfold from his Disney balcony, told news.com.au resort staff and authorities had said “no one is allowed on the beaches at this time”.
“[The search] is still very active and [the] chopper keeps circling,” he said.
Florida is renowned for having more alligators than any other US state. Authorities estimate there are between 1.3 million and 2 million alligators across the state.
There were two fatal alligator attacks in Florida last year in the first reported deaths since 2007.
Florida is considered one of the most vulnerable states in America when it comes to rising sea levels, causing the ocean to start seeping into the Everglades swampland, where alligators live.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, population growth and increasing participation in water-related activities are resulting in more frequent alligator-human interactions.
WAS DISNEY RESPONSIBLE?
Sheriff Demings confirmed there was a sign near the water warning people not to swim.
It is unknown whether the signs mentioned anything about alligators crawling in the waters.
A Disney spokeswoman did not go into detail about the tragic incident but said the resort was devastated and was helping the family and authorities.
Sheriff Demings said police had not received any recent reports or complaints about nuisance alligators but authorities will conduct further investigations.
A witness told a journalist at the Orlando Sentinel they reported a sighting of an alligator to police prior to the attack on the toddler, but Sheriff Demings said he was unaware of the report.
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