More information about two-year-old Lane Graves, who was tragically drowned by an gator at Disney.
By Nicole Weaver — Written on Jun 16, 2016
Most of the country has been watching in horror as a search party tried to find two-year-old Lane Graves after he was pulled underwater by an alligator near a Disney World hotel on June 14. Here are five shocking developments in the case.
1. His body has been found.
There was a long search for where the boy went after he was pulled under by the alligator. An Orange County dive team eventually discovered him at 1:45 PM on June 15. His body did have puncture wounds and was six feet in the water, about 10 to 15 yards from where he was pulled in.
2. Drowning is likely the cause of death.
An autopsy still needs to be performed, but the likely cause of death has already been announced.
"Of course, the autopsy has to confirm that," Sherrif Jerry Demings said. "But there is likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator."
3. The father most likely scared the gator away.
It might seem unusual that the alligator pulled the boy in but didn't do much further to him. This is probably because it decided to escape the situation.
"That gator came in, grabbed that boy, pulled him, the dad startled that gator, the gator let him go and then the boy drowned," Ocean Mysteries host Jeff Corwin hypothesized.
4. Other families played at the same location where the boy was pulled in.
The Graves weren't the only ones who suspected the location was dangerous. A fellow mother posted a picture of her kids playing in the same spot with a heartfelt message on Facebook.
5. This isn't the first alligator attack at the resort.
In 1986, Paul Santamaria said he survived an alligator attack himself. When he was eight and staying at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort he went to a pond and was attacked.
"Under the water, where you couldn't see, there was an alligator,” he told News 9. “It came out of the water, knocked me down, grabbed my leg and started to throw me around and try to pull me into the water."
He was able to get away with the help of his sister pulling him back and his brother hitting the gator. Officials later caught the animal and killed it. Santamaria believes Disney should have clearer signs, but also recognizes that alligators are common to the area.
Santamaria is also not the only one. A British family claims they were chased by an alligator weeks before. They stayed at the same resort two months ago and heard an alligator nearby the lagoon. They sprinted away unharmed.
6. Disney says it will review its "signage."
In response to the tragedy, the company says it will review their signs. The resort currently has signs that say "no swimming" but have only one warning about the possibility of alligators.
7. CEO of Disney World, Bob Iger, called the family personally.
The CEO made sure the reach out to the family, but also released a statement.
"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."
