Walt Disney World has erected a lighthouse sculpture to honour the memory of a two-year-old Nebraska boy who was killed by an alligator last year at one of its hotels.
Area television stations reported that the lighthouse was installed within the past week near where the boy died at the Florida resort.
Last year, an alligator grabbed Lane Graves, who was playing along with the Seven Seas Lagoon beach outside Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. The child’s father, Matt Graves of Omaha, jumped into the water to try to free his son.
Divers found the child’s body about 16 hours after authorities first got the call that a reptile had taken the boy at Seven Seas Lagoon, which borders the Magic Kingdom theme park. The park is one of the world’s most popular tourist spots, drawing millions of visitors annually.
His death was ruled an accident.
According to a final report on the tragic incident, the Graves family was sitting on a lagoon at the Disney Grand Floridian Resort where the two-year-old was building sand castles.
“Lane was using a bucket to get water from the Seven Seas Lagoon and pouring it on the sand,” the FWC said. “He was in the water not more than ankle deep.”
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As the toddler bent down with his bucket to retrieve water, an alligator, measuring roughly two-metres long, bit Lane around the head and throat and began dragging the child into deeper water.
Matt Graves, who was sitting nearby, rushed into the water to save his son.
“He put his hands into the alligator’s mouth and tried to pull it open,” the FWC said. “The alligator thrashed and broke Matt’s grasp and went under the water. The alligator released Lane, who remained submerged near the attack location.”
The report says Lane did not provoke the gator and that the death has been classified as a predatory attack. It adds the alligator may have had a reduced fear of people after living in a highly populated area.
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