LAKE BUENA VISTA - An alligator dragged a small boy into a lagoon at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, defeating the father's efforts to wrestle his child away from the reptile, the sheriff's office said on Wednesday.
Law enforcement officials were hunting for the unidentified two-year-old, grabbed by an alligator at the Seven Seas Lagoon at 9.20pm on the grounds of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.
The boy was playing in the water while his family of five, holidaying from Nebraska, relaxed on the edge of the lagoon, when he was seized by the animal, believed to be about 1.2-2m long, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told reporters.
"The father entered the water and tried to grab the child and was not successful," Mr Demings told a news conference just after midnight.
The mother also tried to rescue the boy and a nearby lifeguard was told of the attack, Mr Demings said.
Mr Demings said there was little hope the boy had survived. “We’re not likely now to find a live body,” he said.
The sheriff did not identify the victim or his family, who he said had been visiting since Sunday. He said there had been other witnesses to the attack.
The father suffered scratches on his hand from the encounter with the alligator, Mr Demings said.
Fifty officers and two boats from Orlando-area law enforcement agencies were searching the lake and the grounds of the hotel, which is at Walt Disney World.Mr Demings said the search involves boats with sonar equipment, an alligator trapper and a dive team on standby.
Wildlife and marine officials have also been drafted into the search.
"We are putting every effort forward," said Chad Weber, an officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Mr Demings said that no such attack had been recorded at the lagoon before and that no “nuisance alligators” had been reported in the area recently.