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The body of two-year-old Lane Graves who was snatched and dragged into a lake by an alligator at the Grand Floridian Resort in Orlando, Florida has been found.
“At about 3:30 today we recovered the remains of the two-year-old from the water and that body has been turned over to the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy,” said Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings during a press conference.
“Autopsy has to confirm, but there’s likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator,” he continued. “The child was found within the immediate area of where he was last seen. It took some time to go through, but our divers were able to locate the body using sonar equipment.”
The boys parents, Matt and Melissa Graves watched in terror as the alligator – believed to be between 4ft and 7ft long – grabbed their son and drag him into the lagoon near the five-star hotel.
“The family says they do appreciate all of the prayers that have gone forward to allow those of us who are working on the professional side to do our jobs to recover their son,” added Sheriff Demings.
Authorities are reportedly now looking to identify the alligator and will “remove” it from the water.
“The story here is this is a tragedy and terrible, but it’s a rare occurrence,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Nick Wiley added. “And fortunately it doesn’t happen that often and we are doing everything we can to make sure it doesn’t ever happen again.”
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