[sureLoss]

Just a horrifying incident at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/all...ida/index.html

An alligator snatched a 2-year-old boy Tuesday night in a lagoon at a Disney hotel near Orlando as his father desperately tried to save him.
A frantic overnight search to find the boy was unsuccessful, authorities said, but efforts are continuing Wednesday morning.

"This is still a search and rescue operation," said Jeff Williamson, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office. "We are very hopeful. We are hoping for the best."

The child was on the edge of the lagoon when the alligator dragged him into the water, according to the boy's family, said Florida Fish & Wildlife executive director Nick Wiley. He cautioned that the investigation is still in an early stage and that officials need to interview at least two other families who may have witnessed the incident.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the child was "wading ... along the lake's edge at the time that the alligator attacked."

Williamson said the boy was in less than a foot of water.

The family of four -- the boy, his parents and his 4-year-old sister -- was on vacation from Nebraska, Demings said. They arrived Sunday.

The parents watched as the alligator attacked the toddler at the Seven Seas Lagoon. The lagoon is connected to a series of canals which feed into large bodies of water.

"The father actually went into the water to wrestle his son from the grips of the alligator," he said. The father suffered minor scratches on his hand but was unsuccessful in getting his son back.

The mother also went into the water, trying to find her child, he said.

"The sad reality of it is it's been several hours, and we're not likely going to recover a live body," Demings said.