Authorities said Wednesday there is "no question" a 2-year-old boy was killed when he was dragged by an alligator into the water near a Disney World hotel in Florida.
The boy, who has not been identified, was with his parents and siblings on vacation from Nebraska. The boy was wading in just a third of a meter of water Tuesday night near the shore of a man-made lake used mostly for boating when the attack occurred, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.
"There certainly are witnesses who saw the boy dragged into the water," Demings said.
Rescue workers searched through the night for the boy, but 15 hours later authorities said there was no hope the boy would be found alive.
Other alligators found
Disney officials closed beaches at the resort after finding four other alligators in the lake during their search for the boy and euthanized them. There was no sign that any of the four was involved in the attack.
The boy's father told authorities he tried to rescue his son, sustaining cuts as he unsuccessfully tried to fight off the alligator, which was estimated to be one to two meters long.
More than 50 law enforcement personnel searched the Seven Seas Lagoon, which reaches a depth of about four meters, outside Disney's Grand Floridian resort in Orlando.
Demings said there have been no other recent reports of similar alligator attacks in the area.
Last October, a 61-year-old swimmer was the first victim killed by an alligator in Florida since 2007.
