Deputies: Toddler dragged into water by gator near Disney's Grand Floridian

[chernabog]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by BooScout (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: WFTV

A toddler was dragged into the water by an alligator near Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

The 2-year-old was dragged into the Seven Seas Lagoon about 9:30 p.m., Tuesday, authorities said.

Deputies are searching the waters for the toddler.

Read more: http://www.wftv.com/news/local/deputies-toddler-dragged-into-water-by-gator-near-disneys-grand-floridian/343562764

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Great, just what we in Orlando need...

[JI7]

1. how was this possible ?

[chernabog]

2. You can get really close to the water

There are no barriers in most places

[24601]

18. You can walk right up to it. At the main pool, there is a beach on the lagoon. Disney keeps the

beach clean & raked and it has chairs. It's posted no swimming, but I always thought it was because the water wasn't filtered. You can rent all kinds of boats, including the tiny 2-seaters with a 7 hp engine. We have seen a gator in a canal over at the DVC Beach Club Villas (in the EPCOT area) but I have never seen one by any of the Magic Kingdom resorts.

Seven Seas Lagoon is man made - they dug it all up to make the first level foundation at Magic Kingdom where main street is really on the 2nd level.

Water flows between the lagoon and Bay Lake which was already there when Disney bought up all the land.

We joined DVC (bought timeshare) when our kids were 4 & 6 and they are in their 20s now. This is horrific.

[valerief]

5. We have people here who say it's only natural to forget your baby in a hot car all day.

I'm amazed at these baby-negligence apologists. They must be 13-year-old boys.

[pnwmom]

7. The hotel was holding an event on the beach. And when the alligator attacked,

this report says the father jumped into the water and wrestled with the animal.

So why don't you wait this time before you accuse a parent you don't know of negligence, based on very minimal facts?

http://uproxx.com/news/alligator-drags-child-into-lagoon-at-disneys-grand-floridian-resort/

[valerief]

10. Why don't you read my post again before attacking me, Hillary supporter? Did I comment on

this event? Or was I talking about posters who apologize for people who forget babies in hot cars all day?

You know, don't bother. I'll just put you on my Forever Ignored club. I only have one more day here.

[pnwmom]

12. You were answering someone who asked how it was possible for this alligator

snatching to have happened, and you referred to baby-negligence apologists.

And then you try to slam me by calling me a Hillary supporter.



Ignore away. You won't be missed.

[MousePlayingDaffodil]

14. Oh, don't worry about him . . .

. . . he's just a bit crestfallen tonight because all of his bubbles have burst and his unicorns have vanished. Now he has to return to the real world.

[pnwmom]

15. ...

[Ned Flanders]

35. Buh-bye to you as well!

I'm out of here as well, and yes, I won't let the door hit me where the good Lord split me, but I hope that you do remember your aggressive, angry support of HRC in the years to come. You deserve her.

[SunSeeker]

37. How did this thread become about Hillary?

[Hekate]

46. Bitter enders? Tick tock.

Tick tock.

[William769]

16. Just think of Bernie math and you have your answer.

They after all brought up first injecting politics into this Thread. I was just happy to oblige them.

[PoliticAverse]

6. Because there are lots and lots of alligators in Florida? n/t

[radical noodle]

8. Exactly n/t

[ReRe]

3. God oh God: Why have you turned against...

... innocent human-kind on earth and in particular in Orlando, FLA?

[IronLionZion]

11. Florida is being judged for its mistakes

to repent now or receive punishment every day?

indeed

[jtuck004]

17. Innocent? After what we are doing to her earth? And that gator might have been

here before we were. We got rid of its other food sources, parade new food around in front of them, and wonder at what happens.

Arrogant, we are.

[Mojorabbit]

19. Yes. I live on a lake. Gators live in the lake. It is Florida.

It is a tragedy nonetheless. I really feel awful about this. The parents have to be terribly traumatized.

[jtuck004]

20. It's a tragedy, but I think about the tragedy we are leaving those who come after us

that is a result of our behavior. That is likely going to lead to the deaths of tens of millions.

We really need to figure out how to live with this world.

[ReRe]

21. Seriously?

You don't give a shit if an alligator eats a baby, all in the defense of Mother Earth?

[jtuck004]

28. Perhaps I should have typed the word "tragedy" slower. On the other hand

I don't dangle food in front of wild animals by moving it onto their turf and expect nothing to happen.

And I for damn sure have more respect for the kids than that. Clearly not everyone shares that opinion.

[ReRe]

31. Never mind my argumentativeness.

If I was the parent, I would be contemplating my own life at this moment.

[DawgHouse]

4. Oh my goodness, how horrible!

That poor child.

[rjsquirrel]

39. The first appropriate response in this thread

Congratulations. That is how normal people respond to such news.

Above some Bros have made it somehow about Hillary Clinton.

Poor kid, poor parents, it's a freak incident but it can and does happen every once in a while.

[closeupready]

9. Gawd no.

[Adrahil]

13. Really sad news....:(.

There are gators all over Florida... You have to be careful near the water.

[rocktivity]

22. Is Orlando taking it on the chin this week, or what?

rocktivity

[eastwestdem]

23. So sad. Is the lake there normally off limits officially? nt

[Nye Bevan]

24. They have signs saying "No swimming".

But the signs don't mention gators. Last time I was there I saw quite a few kids wading in the shallows.

[eastwestdem]

25. Is there a beach? If so, I imagine it's impossible to keep the kids away from the water.

Sounds like they need to keep all water related activities restricted to the pool areas.

[Nye Bevan]

26. Absolutely. It's a beautiful, manicured, white-sand beach,

with plenty of lounge chairs and hammocks. Playing on the beach, building sandcastles and so on is positively encouraged. And they have movie nights and barbecues at dusk on the beach with plenty of families and kids milling around. This tragedy will result in some major changes going forward, I am certain.

[Fuddnik]

44. Yeah, dusk. That's about the time gators start getting active....and hungry.

Not too smart on Disneys part.

[tblue37]

38. Seriously? That's insane! No prominent warnings against such dangerous behavior?

ON EDIT: From the linked article

Demings said the family was relaxing in area along the lake’s edge, and the toddler was playing about a foot in the water when the child was snatched (emphasis added).

The article says the parents also got a lifeguard to help when the father couldn't find his son after struggling with the alligator. If there was a lifeguard, I wonder why he or she didn't warn the parents about the danger of letting a toddler play in water known to harbor alligators.If they were tourists, they would not realize the risk, becausevnon-Floridiand really don't understand how many bodies of water have alligators.

When my son went to get his master's degree at the University of Florida, he was totally surprised that alligators could be found swimming in or sunning themselves near Lake Alice right there on campus.

People who are not likely to be aware the water has alligators should at least be clearly warned. I bet that Disney resort gets hit with a lawsuit over this if in fact they set the event up without making sure people knew about the alligators in the water.

[Retrograde]

40. Two year olds don't usually read

and they can be unbelievably quick when they put their little minds to getting into trouble. I don't blame the parents, I don't really blame Disney (who expect alligators in Disney World?), I don't blame the gator.

[tblue37]

41. The parents were hanging out at the edge of the water while their son played about a foot into

the water. Obviously he didn't dash away from them:

Demings said the family was relaxing in area along the lake’s edge, and the toddler was playing about a foot in the water when the child was snatched.

If the parents were not from the area and were not informed about the risk, then they are not the ones at fault. That's why I predicted a big lawsuit.

It turns out they were from Nebraska, so they would not know about the gators without a warning!

[Fuddnik]

45. If you've got a mud puddle in Florida, chances are you've got a gator in it.

[No Vested Interest]

43. Alligators do migrate from one pond/lake to another, when their original

territory is occupied by another gator.
That's a possibility here; maybe there were no gators previously, but one has now arrived.

[Lil Missy]

27. OMG, how horrible.

[renate]

29. that is beyond horrific

My heart is aching for that poor little child and the parents. It's so surreal.

[Liberal_in_LA]

32. plus one

[DesertRat]

30. This is heartbreaking

[itsrobert]

33. Sad

[bluestateguy]

34. I'm surprised the Orange County police have time to look for him right now

They must be strained to the max with everything going on there now.

What a tragedy.

[Satch59]

36. A nightmare...

Poor Orlando..a truly horrific week.

[wheniwasincongress]

42. Are there alligator warning signs at this location?

Or just "no swimming" ? Disney's resorts bring in people from all over the world and not everyone is familiar with the landscape of Florida. I'm sure many people familiar with Florida and alligators would be under the impression that a body of water on Disney's property would be alligator-free.

[pnwmom]

47. Not from what I read. And they didn't even say "no wading" or "keep out of the water."

Just "no swimming."

And it will NOT be universally understood that "no swimming" means stay the hell away from that water.

[BooScout]

48. Locking...

This is a duplicate of this: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141489447