Sheriff: Body of toddler found after Florida alligator attack

The body of a 2-year-old attacked by an alligator at a Disney World resort has been recovered. The boy was playing in the water when the gator dragged him under. ORLANDO — Authorities recovered the body of a 2-year-old boy dragged into the water by an alligator near a Disney resort, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said Wednesday.samuelrasaq.blogspot.com

Members of the sheriff's office dive team located the remains of the toddler, identified as Lane Graves, around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, nearly 17 hours after the reptile snatched the boy, Demings said. The body was discovered intact, he added.

Demings identified the parents as Matt and Melissa Graves of Elkhorn, Neb. The family was vacationing at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Orlando when the attack occurred in a man-made lake.

"It was a tough message to deliver to them," the sheriff said. He added the parents asked him to thank all the members of the public who prayed for the safe discovery of their little boy. Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger expressed his condolences in a statement released on Wednesday.

"As a parent and a grandparent, my heart goes out to the Graves family during this time of devastating loss," Iger said. "My thoughts and prayers are with them, and I know everyone at Disney joins me in offering our deepest sympathies."

The 7- to 8-foot reptile grabbed the boy late Tuesday as he was playing in about a foot of water at the Seven Seas Lagoon at the resort. His father, who quickly rushed to the boy's aid, could not fend off the alligator and received minor injuries to his hand.

The boy's mother also rushed into the water, but when the frantic couple were unable to save their son, they alerted a nearby lifeguard who called 911.