Here are seven updates since an alligator snatched a two-year-old boy, Lane Graves, at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort late Tuesday.
The attack occurred at 9:21 PM ET on Tuesday night. The child was with his parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, who had traveled from Nebraska to vacation at the resort.
At a press conference midday Wednesday, County Sheriff Jerry Demings said “there’s no question” the child was dead, and that officials were attempting to find the body.
The body was recovered intact a few hours later near the child’s original location. Nick Wiley, executive director of Florida Fish and Wildlife, said officials would “make certain that we have the alligator that was involved and remove it from the lake.”
In response to the attack, Disney closed all the beaches on its resorts. “Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by this tragic accident,” Disney said in a statement. “We are helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law enforcement.”
The attack comes just as Disney was set to open a new theme park in Shanghai. Theme parks make up 31 percent of Disney’s annual revenue.
“As a parent and a grandparent, my heart goes out to the Graves family during this time of devastating loss, said Disney CEO Bob Iger in a statement Wednesday. “My thoughts and prayers are with them, and I know everyone at Disney joins me in offering our deepest sympathies.”
A legal expert told TheWrap that Disney could face a “multimillion dollar” lawsuit in the wake of this attack. Attorney Joseph Balice says that the family could sue for wrongful death and possibly negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Wednesday evening, officials released this photo of the victim, two-year-old Lane Graves.