Disney Gator Attack: Lane Graves" Dad Recalls What He Saw

Matt Graves lived through every parent’s worst nightmare on June 14th.  After his two-year-old son, Lane was dragged into a lake by an alligator, Matt had to tell authorities what happened.

Officials have released a new report with Matt’s account, in which the father-of-two tried to reach into the alligator’s mouth and “grab its teeth” when it snatched his son, according to Time.

The family was watching a movie on the beach at the Grand Floridian resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando at around 8:30 p.m. that night.  Lane was making sand castles by the park’s Seven Seas Lagoon, a man-made lake filled with wildlife.

As Lane, who reports confirm was 37 inches tall and weighed about 30 pounds, was filling a bucket of water for the sand castle, the alligator bit his head and dragged him into the water.

“I saw it come out to get him,” Matt told authorities, adding that he put his hands in the gator’s mouth in an attempt to rescue Lane, but the eight-foot animal only struggled briefly before going under water.

The alligator, according to Matt, “just took off.”

First responders and divers searched for Lane until an officer found his body under 6-7 feet of water, about 10 to 15 feet from where he was taken.

Authorities capture six alligators in the lake, one of which they believe is responsible for Lane’s death.  They also noted that two of the alligators had empty stomachs, which would indicate that their “drive for food would be strong.”

The Orange County Medical Examiner’s officer determined death an accident, noting that Lane suffered injuries to “neck, scalp and skull.”

Disney had “No Swimming” signs on resort beaches prior to the accident.  However, there were no warnings of alligators and snakes, since lounge chairs were available for guests to sit on.  Since June 14th, Disney has updated their signs to include the dangerous wildlife in the lakes.

Lane Graves Alligator Attack: More Details Emerge On Toddler"s Fatal Injuries

The drowning of 2-year-old Lane Graves by an alligator at Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort still haunts members of the public two months later.

On the evening of June 14th, Graves was wading in the shallow waters of Seven Seas Lagoon, Disney’s man-made lake when an alligator snatched and dragged him underwater.

The little boy’s body was found by divers six feet under water the next day,  just 10-15 feet away from where he was attacked. 

Radar Online obtained a copy of the full autopsy, which rules the death as an “accident” and notes that Graves sustained fatal injuries to his “neck, scalp and skull.”

Graves, whose family was enjoying a movie night on the beach, was “dressed in a pair of blue shorts” with a disposable diaper underneath, “worn with a short-sleeved T-shirt emblemized with the American flag.”

The most severe injuries, according to the report, were around Graves’ head.

“The right side of the scalp,” the coroner noted, revealed “a vertically-oriented laceration measuring 2.3 x 0.3 cm.” with “a maximal depth of 0.4 cm.

“The skin on the left side of the hair-bearing scalp in the parietal region has two recent puncture wounds.”

Graves’ skull was fractured, and the coroner found “abrasions on his eyelid, eyebrow and jaw.”  He concluded that Graves “died as the result of cranio-cervical trauma and drowning.”

The alligator was eventually caught and killed by authorities.  Even though there is no swimming permitted in the lagoon, signs did not warn resort guests that alligators, snakes and other dangerous animals inhabited the waters. 

Prior to the accident, lounge chairs would be set up on the beach for people to sunbathe, and the resort also hosted movie nights, like the one the Nebraska-based Graves took part in before their son was killed.

Graves’ father, Matt tried to wrestle the boy out of the jaws of the alligator, but it was too late.

We continue to keep the Graves family in our thoughts.

Disney Alligator Attack: Parents Of Lane Graves Break Their Silence

The unthinkable happened to Matt and Melissa Graves on June 14th, and now they have to return home to Nebraska without their son.

The parents, who attempted to rescue their two-year-old, Lane Graves from the mouth of an alligator, gave their first statement today.

“Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son,” the couple said, according to ABC News.

“We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time. To all of the local authorities and staff who worked tirelessly these past 24 hours, we express our deepest gratitude.”

At 9:16 on Wednesday night, the Graves were on the beach of the Grand Floridian Hotel in Walt Disney World for a movie night.  Graves waded into the man-made lake, even though “No Swimming” signs were posted.

Then, an alligator came from the lake and snatched the little boy, dragging him into water.

Tireless search-and-rescue efforts from first responders, law enforcement and Disney employees eventually found the body of the boy at around 1:45  on Tuesday afternoon.  Save for a few puncture wounds, authorities confirmed, his body was in tact.

What’s even more disturbing is that the body was located about ten to fifteen feet from where he was taken, under six feet of water.

Fellow resort guest Jennifer Venditti Roye posted photos of her own son, who waded in the water at the exact same location on the beach an hour earlier, to Facebook.

Venditti Roye did this to hit back at the online trolls who have been tormeting Graves’ parents for ignoring the “No Swimming” signs.

“There is a time to be critical when parents are doing drugs and their children get hurt,” Venditti Roye told People Magazine.

“But this is just not the time. It’s heartbreaking.”

The mom to three-year-old Channing said the accident hit way too close to home for her.

“It could have been [my son],” she admitted. “We had been there every night. What a tragedy.”

“Not at all did that cross my mind that there would be alligators in that area,” she said.

“There were tons of families just roasting marshmallows. The Grand Floridian had provided the activity for kids, right there on the beach,” Venditti Roye explained.

“And the water was just ankle deep. Where that beach is – it’s a small cove, so central, with the resort area built around it. There’s a pool nearby. It’s well-lit. Well-traveled. Not off the beaten path where you think anything would be lurking.

“I never would have dreamed in a million years that there would have been an alligator there.”

The Facebook post has been shared over 150,000 times.

“I can’t help but wonder if we played with him,” she wrote.

“Did I talk to his Mom? How does one go home without your baby in tow? PRAY, PRAY so hard for the family & for those who witnessed this tragic event.”