Toddler's body recovered after alligator attack in Florida

Police named the boy as Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska, who was on holiday with his parents and his sibling at the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian resort.

Lane was attacked on Tuesday night as he waded in shallow water at the edge of the man-made lagoon.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said a dive team found the body of the two-year-old at about 3.30pm local time.

He said the body was found “completely intact,” just 10 to 15 yards from where he was attacked, in about six feet of water.

They had used sonar to find the body in murky water.

His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves were on holiday with their two children when the attack happened.

Around nightfall on Tuesday, Lane waded no more than 2ft into the water before being snatched by the alligator from a small beach.

Mr Graves desperately tried to save him, suffering lacerations to the hand, but was unable to pull him free. Neither could a lifeguard, who was nearby.

“No swimming” signs had been posted at the beach, but Lane was wading, not swimming.

Mr Demings cast doubt on the possibility that the parents will face any charges over the incident.

He said there was nothing to suggest “anything extraordinary” in terms of how the parents were caring for the boy.

A 50-strong search team of trappers and divers had spent the day searching Disney’s network of man-made canals, ponds and lakes. At least five other alligators were caught and cut open before they found the killer.

A Disney representative said the entertainment giant had closed the beaches “out of an abundance of caution”.

Wildlife officials said the attack was a rarity in a state with an alligator population estimated at around one million, but it still left visitors shaken in a city built on tourism.