Authorities released their final reports on Monday into the death of 2-year-old Lane Graves, who was killed in June by an alligator at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Orange County Sheriff's Office released their reports in Lane's June 14 death on the beaches of the Seven Seas Lagoon, where several Walt Disney World resorts are located.
In the reports, officials said Lane and his father were on the wet sand of the beach in ankle-deep or less water building a sandcastle when the alligator bit Lane's head as he bent down and pulled him into the water.
The father then reached into the animal's mouth in an attempt to free his son's head from the reptile's jaws.
Previous reports said that Lane and his father were "wading" into the water, where "no swimming" signs were posted.
The FWC said in its report that it captured three alligators in the 7 to 8 foot range capable of causing an attack. Two of them – females—were in close proximity (2/10th of a mile) to the incident location, but the DNA and bite comparison were inconclusive.
“While we cannot say with absolute certainty that the subject animal has been taken… it is very likely one of the two females captured close to the attack location was the offending animal," FWC said in its report.
The boy's body was found 16 hours later. The FWC report says the boy died from a crushing bite and drowning.
“We continue to pray for the Graves family," FWC Director Nick Wiley said in a statement to News 6 . "FWC would like to thank Disney and our partners at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for the professional collaboration on this thorough investigation. Our agency will continue to work to keep families informed on how they can safely enjoy all that Florida has to offer.”
The report says Lane did nothing to provoke the alligator and that the death is classified as a predatory attack.
The report says the alligator may have had a diminished fear of people by being in an area with lots of humans.
Final Investigative Report on Lane Graves by Melodi Smith on Scribd