When you take a family vacation to a place like Disney World, the farthest thing from your mind is that the vacation will end in tragedy. That’s because 99% of the time, it doesn’t: You laugh, you swim, you have a good time, and that’s that. But sadly, that other 1% still exists, and this time, it came in the form of the Graves family. They made headlines last week after their two-year-old son, Lane, was dragged by an alligator who managed to get up to the shallow end of the beach at the Disney resort. It wasn’t until hours later that Lane’s body was found, apparently drowned by the alligator in question. In addition to recovering the boy’s body, the police and animal control officers were faced with the task of finding the alligator responsible. It took awhile, but they were able to find and exterminate the animal — but that’s no relief for the grieving family members. Now, photos of Lane have surfaced, and you can learn a little bit more about this boy, taken far too soon from his family, below.Last week, he made the news. Unfortunately, it was for an incredibly tragic reason.
Everything was great, and the family was enjoying a movie night on the shore of this resort. Despite signs telling patrons not to swim, mom and dad were letting Lane stand and play a few inches into the water.
An alligator came out of the water and pulled Lane under. His father, Matthew tried to pull his son out of the alligator’s jaws, but the animal was too strong. He dragged little Lane into the lagoon.
Though there were definitely signs discouraging swimming, many say it was not enough: There should have also been signs to warn of the threat of alligators.
There was no reason to suspect parental neglect, and sadly, there is really no one to blame. These things happen, and it’s incredibly tragic when they do.
For Lane, his family, and children everywhere, it was supposed to be the happiest place on earth. Unfortunately, this happy place turned into a nightmare all too quickly.
The rescue operation lasted over 15 hours. It was then that the worst was confirmed, and the police made a statement: There was no way the child was still alive.
Assuming that little Lane had already been killed, they continued to search for his body. Eventually, divers were able to fish the boy’s remains out of the lagoon. His body was fully intact, meaning the alligator did not eat him. The cause of death is officially drowning.
There’s no telling how they will handle this in the future, but clearly safety measures need to be improved at the resort. As far as the Graves family is concerned, they set up a foundation in Lane’s memory. “Losing Lane has broken our hearts in the worst possible way,” they wrote in a statement on the foundation’s website. “While there is no way to mend our hearts, we can do good work in his honor.”
