RBP
06-15-2016, 08:40 AM
Lake Buena Vista, Florida (CNN)A frantic search is underway to find a 2-year-old boy who was attacked by an alligator and dragged into a lagoon at a Disney hotel near Orlando.
The child was "wading just in the water along the lake's edge at the time that the alligator attacked," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.
"The father actually went into the water to wrestle his son from the grips of the alligator," he said. The father suffered minor scratches on his hand, but was unsuccessful in getting his son back.
The mother also went into the water, but did not wrestle the gator -- she was trying to find her child, he said.
"The sad reality of it is it's been several hours and we're not likely going to recover a live body," he said.
Demings said there is no record of similar incidents in this particular area.
The family of four -- parents, the boy and his 4-year-old sister -- is on vacation from Nebraska, Demings said. They arrived Sunday.
"Everyone here at the Walt Disney Resort is devastated by this tragic accident," Jacquee Wahler, the Vice President of the Walt Disney World Resort said. "Our thoughts are with the family. We are helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law enforcement."
Demings said no reports of nuisance alligators have come in the region recently. The alligator is between 4 and 7 feet long, Demings said, adding he's unsure of its exact size.
Baby pen was near water
The Reedy Creek Emergency Services call center first received a report about the attack at 9:16 p.m. ET.
The incident occurred on a sandy waterfront area outside the hotel near the Seven Seas Lagoon on the property.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/alligator-attacks-child-disney-florida/index.html
The child was "wading just in the water along the lake's edge at the time that the alligator attacked," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.
"The father actually went into the water to wrestle his son from the grips of the alligator," he said. The father suffered minor scratches on his hand, but was unsuccessful in getting his son back.
The mother also went into the water, but did not wrestle the gator -- she was trying to find her child, he said.
"The sad reality of it is it's been several hours and we're not likely going to recover a live body," he said.
Demings said there is no record of similar incidents in this particular area.
The family of four -- parents, the boy and his 4-year-old sister -- is on vacation from Nebraska, Demings said. They arrived Sunday.
"Everyone here at the Walt Disney Resort is devastated by this tragic accident," Jacquee Wahler, the Vice President of the Walt Disney World Resort said. "Our thoughts are with the family. We are helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law enforcement."
Demings said no reports of nuisance alligators have come in the region recently. The alligator is between 4 and 7 feet long, Demings said, adding he's unsure of its exact size.
Baby pen was near water
The Reedy Creek Emergency Services call center first received a report about the attack at 9:16 p.m. ET.
The incident occurred on a sandy waterfront area outside the hotel near the Seven Seas Lagoon on the property.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/alligator-attacks-child-disney-florida/index.html