Disney alligator attack: Father 'tried to free son from animal's jaws'

The father of a toddler who was snatched by an alligator at a Walt Disney resort reached into the animal’s mouth in a failed attempt to try and save his son, investigators have revealed.

A report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the seven-foot alligator bit Lane Graves’ head as the boy bent down at the edge of a lagoon while gathering sand for a sandcastle at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort near Orlando, and that the boy died from a crushing bite and drowning.

The report also revealed that other guests had warned that an alligator was in the lagoon where children were playing. It did not, however, address what role Walt Disney World’s policies or lack of them possibly played in the death of the child this summer.

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The Associated Press said that at the same time, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office released its report and ruled the death was an accident. One witness, a 16-year-old tourist, said he was walking with his younger siblings on a beach-area walkway when he heard a scream from the lagoon and saw the alligator taking the boy.

“The alligator first came in head first toward the beach but turned around once it had the child in its mouth and crawled back into the water headfirst,” Peter Courakos told police.

Tourist Alfred Smith said he photographed the alligator from his hotel room balcony about an hour and a half before the attack. A short time before the attack, he said, he saw children playing in the ankle-deep water. He was heading out the door to warn them about the alligator when he heard Lane’s mother screaming, the wildlife agency report said.

The two-year-old was on holiday with his parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, from Elkhorn, Nebraska, in June. Lawyers have said that Disney could be liable for millions of dollars if it was found liable, but the family have said they do not intend to bring a case against the resort.

The wildlife agency’s report said Lane did nothing to provoke the alligator and that the death is classified as a predatory attack.

The alligator may have had a diminished fear of people by being in an area with lots of humans, and wildlife officials are still investigating if alligator feeding took place, according to the wildlife agency.

After the boy’s death, Disney World made changes to limit possible visitor contact with alligators on the property.

Workers were building a stone wall around the lagoon and “No Fishing” signs were installed around waterfront areas. Fishing at Disney World was changed to be limited only to excursions.

Authorities said they are confident they caught the offending alligator but acknowledge they are not sure. In the end, the findings of the report indicate the victim was an unfortunate match for a specific predator seeking prey, and his family had no warning the child was in any potential danger.