Photo Of 2-Year Old Drowned By Alligator At Disney Just Released
2-year-old Lane Graves was tragically drowned by an alligator at Disney World.
PEOPLE Florida has had much of its share in tragedy in the last week. The photo of the 2-year old who was dragged by an alligator at a Disney World Hotel has just been released.
Lane Graves was on vacation at Disney World with his family on the day of the tragedy. He was playing by the water when the four to seven feet long alligator came out of the water and dragged him into the lake. The boy's father tried to wrestle the boy away and suffered lacerations in his hand, but he and the lifeguard could not save the child, according to the Associated Press.
Although initially hopeful that the boy was alive, Orange Country Sheriff Jerry Demings knew that there were challenges. The search and rescue operation turned into search and recover. Authorities recovered his body on Wednesday, still intact.
"At about 3:30 today we recovered the remains of the 2-year-old from the water and that body has been turned over to the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy," said Demings.
The county sheriff believes that the 2-year old Graves may have been drowned by the alligator, but autopsy results are yet to be revealed.
PEOPLE magazine also confirmed that although the area had "No Swimming" signs, there were no warnings about alligators. Although devastated, the Graves family thanked their supporters for all the prayers. Disney also released a statement.
"There are no words to convey the profound sorrow we feel for the family and their unimaginable loss," Walt Disney World Resort president George A. Kalogridis stated.
Disney CEO Bob Iger extended his condolences to the family. "My thoughts and prayers are with them, and I know everyone at Disney joins me in offering our deepest sympathies," he said.
Less than an hour before the accident, a mother had taken photos of her son at that exact spot. And just two months ago, a British family also had an encounter with an alligator at Disney World.
Although it's meant to be the happiest place on Earth, even Disney World can't escape the clutches of tragedy.