The 2-year-old Nebraska boy who was dragged by an alligator into a lagoon on the edge of a Walt Disney World hotel Tuesday night has been found dead.
Sheriff Jerry Demings said at a press conference an Orange County dive team found the body of Lane Graves intact at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday not far from where the boy was taken Tuesday night.
He likely drowned, Demings said.
"Of course, the autopsy has to confirm that, but there is likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator," Demings said.
Demings said the body was found in murky water perhaps 10 to 15 yards from where the boy was attacked.
The boy's parents, who are from Elkhorn, Nebraska, were identified as Matt and Melissa Graves.
Demings said the Graveses were distraught yet relieved that this was not a protracted search.
He said he brought a priest with him when breaking the news to the parents, who are Roman Catholic.
CNN reported a statement from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Nick Wiley, who said the alligator may already have been caught, but that has not yet been confirmed.
"We're going to make certain that we have the alligator that was involved, and that we remove it from the lake," he said.
The boy's family was at a movie night outdoors at the Grand Floridian Resort when around 9 p.m. the boy waded into about a foot of water in a lagoon, authorities have said. Witnesses, including the boy's horrified parents, tried to save him. His father jumped in and tried to pry the gator's mouth open. His mother also jumped in.
But it was too late. The child was dragged underwater in the Seven Seas Lagoon, witnesses told authorities. The lagoon is connected to a series of canals that feed into large bodies of water, Wiley said earlier.
Demings said there is no record of similar incidents in the area.
A handful of people witnessed the attack and supplied police with information. Witnesses said the family was on the beach, and the boy's sister was in a playpen about 20 to 30 yards from the water, according to Demings. The toddler was nearby, wading in the water.
The Reedy Creek emergency services call center first received a report about the attack at 9:16 p.m.
A search began for the boy immediately, with boats from Disney searching along with law enforcement.
By midmorning Wednesday, Disney had closed all beaches in its resort area "out of an abundance of caution" after the attack, a Disney representative said.
Wiley said the family told him the child was on the edge of the lagoon when the alligator attacked. He cautioned that the investigation is still in an early stage and officials need to interview at least two other families who may have witnessed the attack.
Declan Salcido, who was vacationing at the resort with relatives from San Jose, California, told CNN the "No Swimming" signs are visible "from any vantage point."
The lagoon is not for recreational swimming.
"This is Florida, and it's not uncommon for alligators to be in bodies of water," Demings said.
Jeff Corwin, a noted national animal expert, said he was surprised this happened so close to a highly regulated area but noted there are millions of alligators in Florida. Disney has many thousands of acres. "An alligator could make its way, undetected through some swamp and marsh, into a lagoon near where people congregate."
A gator that size would be unlikely to attack an adult, he said, but a child would be more vulnerable.
When a gator bites down, its jaws snap closed with thousands of pounds of force, Corwin said. "I can't imagine the terror on these people's minds trying to manage this," he said.
As of April, only one other major alligator attack has been reported this year. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson confirmed that person survived the attack, but required medical care.
In 2015, there were nine major unprovoked attacks with one fatality.
At this time of year, gators are nesting and behave more aggressively. They are particularly active at night and in this "season" have been known to come out of the water to prey on small mammals.
Here are some gator facts and figures as of April 2016 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission:
257: Unprovoked alligator attacks in Florida (1948-2016)
23: The number of attacks that required medical care
8: People who died as a result of those attacks
1977: The year that saw the most attacks requiring medical care (13)
1 in 2.4 million: The likelihood a resident will be seriously injured in an attack
(The bulk of this report comes from CNN reports, which was on the scene throughout the search and recovery.)
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
