In the wake of the alligator attack that killed a 2-year-old boy at a Walt Disney World resort this week, it has emerged that another park guest's son had a close encounter with one of the predatory reptiles 14 months ago.
On Tuesday night, Lane Graves was playing in a foot of water in the Seven Seas Lagoon near Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa when he was snatched by a gator described by witnesses as between 4 and 7 feet. His father tried to rescue him, to no avail.
His body was recovered the following day. Authorities said drowning and traumatic injury caused his death.
At least six alligators were removed from the lagoon and killed during the search for Lane Graves, and Disney says it is evaluating its safety protocols.
A San Diego man told CBS News this week that his son had a narrow brush with two of the dangerous creatures during a vacation in April 2015.
David Hiden and his family were staying at the Coronado Springs Resort, about 3 miles from the Grand Floridian, when his 5-year-old son was approached by a gator he estimated to be 6 to 7 feet long.
“I saw something rapidly coming on like a submarine,” Hiden told CBS.
A second gator was lurking nearby when he pulled his son from the water. The lagoon at Coronado Springs is not connected to Seven Seas Lagoon, where the Graves boy was killed.
Hiden told CBS that he notified a hotel manager and showed her a photo he had taken of one of the gators, but she was reportedly unfazed.
“(She said,) ‘Those are ‘resident pets,’ and we’ve known about them for years. And they’re harmless. They’re not going to attack anybody,’” he said.
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