The body of a boy who was tragically attacked by an alligator at Disney World in Florida has been found dead.
The boy was pulled into the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon that borders Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort around 9:00 p.m. ET Wednesday night, according to NBC News.
At 3:30pm ET today, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said that officials had retrieved the boy’s remains.
The boy’s mother and father were watching as he waded "along the lake’s edge at the time that the alligator attacked."
(Their four-year-old daughter was about "20 to 30" yards away from the water.)
When the search first kicked off, Demings explained during a press conference how hopeful authorities were in finding the boy.
Demings told reporters that the father had tried to pry the alligator’s mouth open to release his son.
The mother, meanwhile, ran into the water in vain to try and save him as the reptile dragged his prey away.
The father was uninjured, save for some scratches.
A lifeguard called 911 immediately after being alerted, and soon boats from Disney and law enforcement were combing the waters, looking for the victim.
Sonar devices were used, divers and alligator trappers did their best, but the outlook grew grim as the hours went by.
In a press conference earlier today, Demings warned that people had to prepare for the worst.
"The sad reality of it is it’s been several hours, and we’re not likely going to recover a live body," he said.
No Swimming signs are posted all over resort beaches in Disney World, which is land-locked.
The freshwater lakes there, and in all parts of Florida, are home to millions of alligators.
"They [alligators] were probably attracted to some motion on the bank," executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Nick Wiley explained, according to USA Today.
“That’s the way they stalk their prey.”
Experts believe the alligator mistook the boy for a dog or a raccoon.
No other details about the victim or his parents are available as of press time.