As unsettling as that experience was, Hiden was also shocked with the resort managements reaction when Hiden informed them of his son’s potentially fatal experience. “We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely hard time”, they said. “To all of the local authorities and staff who worked tirelessly these past 24 hours, we express our deepest gratitude”.
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The medical examiner’s office in Orlando says a 2-year-old Nebraska boy died from drowning and traumatic injuries after being grabbed by an alligator at Walt Disney World.
The child’s body was found by divers Wednesday afternoon about 10 to 15 yards from shore.
Jacquee Wahler, a Disney spokesperson, said on June 16 that resort beaches closed following the attack would continue to be off-limits to guests until further notice. “This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings”, Ms. Wahler said.
The dead child’s parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, who live in a suburban area of Omaha, have not spoken publicly, so it’s unclear whether they knew anything about the gator threat in Florida. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings has mentioned in press conferences that there are “no swimming” signs posted at the lagoon, but sheriff’s office spokesperson Jeff Williamson said that “My understanding is that he was not swimming”.
They said one potential problem for the company could be that, despite creating an inviting beach environment with lounge chairs, Disney didn’t post specific warnings about alligators, instead posting “no swimming” signs.
He waded into the murky water, authorities said, about a foot away from the safety of the sand. Witnesses, including the boy’s horrified parents, tried to save him as a gator dragged him underwater, witnesses told authorities. Per their policy, trappers came and captured the alligator from the lake outside the Caribbean Beach Resort, Whalen said, but when she complained to the front desk and wrote Disney a letter, she never heard back.
Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said gator attacks on people are rare, but noted that Florida waterways are home to many of them. He says he and his siblings were playing near a pond when an alligator attacked. He said they are searching all day, but especially at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity.
Florida wilderness officials caught the alligator and killed it. Now Santamaria has two-year-old twin girls. He said the death of 2-year-old Lane Graves is on his mind. His parents were there at the time of the incident.
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Orlando is having a nightmarish week: the murder of a singer, the deadliest mass shooting in USA history at a gay nightclub the next night, and tragedy at the Magic Kingdom – a toddler snatched by an alligator at a Disney resort hotel.
