Disney Alligator Attack: Toddler's Body Found

The body of a 2-year-old boy snatched by an alligator at a Disney resort has been found, ending a desperate search that lasted more than 18 hours.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the body was recovered at about 3:30 pm (local time) and although a formal identification is pending, "there is no reason to believe that the body recovered is not that of" the toddler.

The toddler's parents watched Tuesday night as the alligator grabbed their son and dragged him deeper into the water, officials said. The father, who was not identified, rushed in and grabbed desperately for his son; he cut his hand but was unable to save the boy.

The boy was just about 30cm beyond the sand when, after 9pm, the alligator attacked.

About 50 staff from Disney World, the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) searched the lagoon in helicopters and boats.

Since 1948, 383 people in Florida have suffered alligator bites, according to Florida wildlife commission records. Twenty-three of those attacks were fatal. Last year, one person was killed by an alligator, and before that, the last recorded fatality was in 2007.

Read the full story at nzherald.co.nz