June 15, 2016
Sheriff: Body of Boy Killed at Disney World by Alligator Recovered
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Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings says searchers have recovered the body of a 2-year-old Nebraska boy snatched by an alligator at Walt Disney World.
The boy was attacked Tuesday night as he waded in shallow water at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney's Grand Floridian resort.
Demings identified the boy as Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska.
The search team grew to 50 people Wednesday as trappers and divers searched Disney's network of man-made canals, ponds and lakes. At least five other alligators were caught and cut open before they found the killer.
Demings says Disney has never had anything like this happen in 45 years of operations. He says the theme parks' wildlife management system works diligently to keep guests safe from dangerous Florida creatures, removing or killing any alligators they find.
Officials say the little boy was wading at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon around nightfall Tuesday when an alligator estimated to be between 4 feet and 7 feet long dragged him under.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the family of four from Nebraska arrived on Sunday in Orlando, where only hours earlier, a gunman's attack on a gay nightclub left 49 people dead. Two days before that, 22-year-old Christina Grimmie, a contestant on season six of "The Voice," was killed in Orlando while signing autographs after a show.