A mass search is underway for a two-year-old boy who was dragged into a lagoon by an alligator at Disney World.
The boy was on the shores of Disney’s five-star Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, in Orlando, Florida with his mother, father and two siblings.
The toddler was on holiday with his family from Nebraska and playing in the shallow waters when he was grabbed.
The reptile then clenched his jaws around him, before pulling him into the Seven Seas Lagoon.
In a desperate bid to save the toddler’s life, his dad ran into the shallow water and tried to wrestle the youngster from the gator, but he was overcome by the reptile’s strength.
Police said that there were ‘no swimming’ signs near the area where the boy vanished.
Sheriff Jerry Demings said:
As they waded into the water along the lake’s edge at the time, that’s when the alligator attacked. The father entered the water and tried to grab the child but he was not successful in doing so. I’m told that at some point, the mother also entered the water.
Demings added that the mother also tried to rescue the boy, to no avail, before telling a nearby lifeguard about the attack.
50 law enforcement personnel are now searching the area for the boy, with wildlife and marine officials also being drafted into the search.
We are really holding out hope that this all turns out okay.
