Alligator attacks 2-year-old boy at Disney's Grand Floridian, recovery effort continues

A 2-year-old boy who was attacked and dragged into the water by an alligator on the shores of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Tuesday night was still missing early Wednesday morning.


Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said rescue personnel had been actively looking for the child in the Seven Seas Lagoon for hours in a search and recovery effort but had not found him.
They hoped to find him before daylight, he said. A dive team with sonar equipment was on standby -- just part of a 50-person rescue team on the scene.
"As a father, as a grandfather, we're going to hope for the best in these circumstances, but based on my 35 years of law enforcement experience, we know we have some challenges ahead of us," Demings said. Demings said the Nebraska family of five was relaxing on the shoreline when the alligator attacked the boy.
The father entered the water and tried to grab the child from the gator, but was not successful. He had scratches on his hands after the ordeal. Parents then alerted a nearby lifeguard that an alligator had attacked the boy.
Officials estimated it was between four and seven feet long. The initial report came into officials at 9:16 p.m. Tuesday, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Rose Silva said. Deputies were searching the Seven Seas Lagoon and put crime-scene tape around the area to block it off. Multiple emergency vehicles filled the front drive of the Victorian-style hotel and a helicopter hovered overhead.