MomtoCandJ Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 That poor family 😠I hate this whole "back seat" (as in people commenting on what they would have done but they don't have any kids) parenting thing that's happening now 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 One of the articles I read said they found the body only ten or so feet off shore, in six foot deep water, and that the boy drowned. God. Those poor parents. As if it wasn't bad enough, but now they have to live with wondering if he drowned pretty much an arms reach away from them. :( 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 One of the articles I read said they found the body only ten or so feet off shore, in six foot deep water, and that the boy drowned. God. Those poor parents. As if it wasn't bad enough, but now they have to live with wondering if he drowned pretty much an arms reach away from them. :( :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarasue7272 Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I just saw that, too. Just devastating. He was so close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 There just are not words. I cannot imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) The idiots commenting on the news articles are just inhuman. Those parents are in tremendous pain and the world treats their loss like a ****ing carnival. Can we feed the trolls to the alligators? Edited June 16, 2016 by Aelwydd 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Honestly, I don't think anything could have been done to prevent this from the family/people on the beach side of things. Perhaps Disney could change signage (seems smart to have lots of signs warning about dangerous alligators since, yes, lots of people visit there who'd have no idea), but from the beach-go'ers perspective, I can't see what could have been done differently. Or perhaps Disney could do more to patrol for large alligators and relocate them and/or maybe even put up fencing in the water along the beaches where families play . . . (That might be the only thing they could do to make the beaches alligator-safe . . . That's what I've seen in a swimming hole we've frequented in FL in a spring fed river where there are loads of alligators . .. There is a fence/netting in the water and there are park staff that keep aware of large alligators . .. For over a decade, I spent a month in FL with my kids each fall. We routinely went paddling on a river (same river I mention above) that has loads of alligators (and manatees and birds and all sorts of pretty stuff). We (and zillions of other people) paddled and *swam* in that river, even though we knew alligators lived there and we *saw* alligators there on every trip. We'd stay out of the water if/when we saw a alligator in that particular area, but surely they are there all the time. When we saw a big one, I'd make sure my kids were securely seated on their paddle board or in their kayak (and not in the water) and we'd steer clear . . . But, every paddle trip, we'd see all sorts of people swimming, kids playing on rope swings, etc, and my kids would do it too (along with us grown ups). I certainly wouldn't have thought I was taking a significant alligator risk by wading ankle deep in water unless I saw specific warning signs or saw large gators in the area . . . And my own FIL assisted a man on a golf course 8 or so years ago whose arm was bitten off by a large alligator when the man was reaching into the edge of a pond on the golf course to retrieve a golf ball . . . So, I am well aware that alligators are dangerous. Like wolf attacks or bear attacks or any other large predator attacks, these things can happen when we are in the animals' territories . . . It is a terrible tragedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I've read in a few reports that there was a lifeguard there (not sure "there" means on duty nearby or happened to be there), but if there is a lifeguard wouldn't you think that means people felt safe being there? Some of you have mentioned this being breeding season, surely that would warrant more scrutiny around the water, like more signage and perhaps staff warning people not to be in or near the water. It's not like tourists really read up on breeding habits of alligators. Yeah, as a parent, I'd probably have to be heavily medicated for a long time to not just wanna die. I do hope finding the body allows them an iota of peace to not think about the thousand what ifs about his location going through their head. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I read that alligators sometimes mistake small children for prey in the dark. Being a northerner I've swam in water in Florida that may well have had alligators. :( And I've seen an alligator jump in the water while canoeing. What was I thinking, camping in the mangroves? I'm so sorry for the family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I read that alligators sometimes mistake small children for prey in the dark. Being a northerner I've swam in water in Florida that may well have had alligators. :( And I've seen an alligator jump in the water while canoeing. What was I thinking, camping in the mangroves? I'm so sorry for the family. Oh God...I have to leave this thread. :gnorsi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Regarding living in florida...my parent's house, where I lived with my son for a while, had a canal behind it. Gators lived in it. Big ones were reported and removed by trappers. We had a fence between the house and the canal, so the dogs couldn't go in the water, or near it. We did sometimes go out the gate and walk along the water, but kept a few feet from the water. Same anywhere else, you just keep a foot or two between you and the water. Obviously, we don't swim in fresh water much! The exception are the natural springs, with are crystal clear so a gator is easily spotted, and I think probably too cold for most gators to want to hang out much. They have closed down the springs we go to though, for gator sightings. We also do have bears that get into trash, etc. Indulge my ignorance here. I have never lived in gator country and Lord willing never will. When you walk with your dog / child a few feet from the water, is it safe? I mean couldn't the gator waddle out and grab you? They are not fish who have to remain in water. Are the few feet just considered a few seconds of warning since you can obviously see them immediately when they emerge from water rather than sneak up on you under water? Could you or your dog outrun them? For some weird reason, I'd much rather deal with a bear...I used to live in bear country in the foothills of CA. At least the dogs would warn you and most of them were not taking a stroll through your property in broad daylight. Maybe it's because a bear is furry and an alligator not so much....uuggh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 A gator attack is very rare. Like I said, we would have them in the retention ponds in our neighborhood and they bothered no one. Not even the people fishing on the bank. They would also run from the idiots who tried to capture them. The only times I felt they became a threat is when I would see someone feed them because it would make them more likely to come near humans. I always made phone calls about that. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Indulge my ignorance here. I have never lived in gator country and Lord willing never will. When you walk with your dog / child a few feet from the water, is it safe? I mean couldn't the gator waddle out and grab you? They are not fish who have to remain in water. Are the few feet just considered a few seconds of warning since you can obviously see them immediately when they emerge from water rather than sneak up on you under water? Could you or your dog outrun them? You can't outrun an alligator, they are very fast for short distances. You are correct that an alligator would usually be hidden in the water, watching prey, before attacking. They will attack in the water - I've seen one eat a swimming snake - and they will go up a bit on the bank, like the video someone posted of them going after a duck. However, it would be very rare for an alligator to come UP out of a canal for prey, because they can't really see you (if the water in a canal is up to the sides, then it's flooding and you shouldn't be walking by it for lots of reasons, alligators and snakes among them). An adult-sized human would also be a deterrent, but lagoons and wetlands are always going to be much more problematic than a man-made canal. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 That poor family. I can not imagine. To be honest, I can't imagine being a vacationing family there while this happened. I feel for them, and their now very mixed, confused feelings. I feel for Disney as well. This was a rare/freak moment. Human nature (and litigious culture) will find them at fault. (Simultaneously with blaming the parents.) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I was just reading, and statistically you're considerably more likely to be hit and killed by lightning than by alligator attack. It really is such a freak event. And I hope the parents can recognize it as such and find peace. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I was just reading, and statistically you're considerably more likely to be hit and killed by lightning than by alligator attack. It really is such a freak event. And I hope the parents can recognize it as such and find peace. I am hoping they find a measure of comfort in this, and in the fact that his body was found intact. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I just heard on the news again that the child was in ankle-deep water, not a foot of water. Making what happened all the rarer. My understanding is that he was a foot from the edge of the water, and that people are confusing that with "on a foot of water". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SproutMamaK Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) Edited: posted the same thing at the same time as Daria. Edited June 16, 2016 by SproutMamaK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 One of the articles I read said they found the body only ten or so feet off shore, in six foot deep water, and that the boy drowned. God. Those poor parents. As if it wasn't bad enough, but now they have to live with wondering if he drowned pretty much an arms reach away from them. :( I thought the same thing (as one who has blamed myself for a tragedy that I know rationally was out of my control.) I truly wonder if they would have been better off not knowing that part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) I didn't think his was body was found where he went under the water. I thought it was found in another part of the lake 10 feet from the shore. I can't fathom why it would have taken them over 24 hours to find his body if it was 10 feet from the shore where he was taken under. ETA: Either way, a horribly tragic accident that is in no way the parents' fault. Edited June 16, 2016 by Chelli 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Agree it was a freak accident. Even though I think Disney should have signs up, and hope they will from now on, I don't think they are at fault exactly. And I am sure they are horrified, and will do right by the family. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I didn't think his was body was found where he went under the water. I thought it was found in another part of the lake 10 feet from the shore. I can't fathom why it would have taken them over 24 hours to find his body if it was 10 feet from the shore where he was taken under. ETA: Either way, a horribly tragic accident that is in no way the parents' fault. It says in one article that it was 15 yards, which is more like 45 feet. Since the water was dark, and really, even if it were not dark and he were simply submerged and they were trying to get to him, it would have been too far for them to reach him in a reasonable amount of time before he would have drowned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I didn't think his was body was found where he went under the water. I thought it was found in another part of the lake 10 feet from the shore. I can't fathom why it would have taken them over 24 hours to find his body if it was 10 feet from the shore where he was taken under. ETA: Either way, a horribly tragic accident that is in no way the parents' fault. I read the body was found 10 - 15 YARDS from the shore - 30-45 feet out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 My understanding is that he was a foot from the edge of the water, and that people are confusing that with "on a foot of water". . This post came across my FB feed this morning, showing the beach and shoreline: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.venditti.18/posts/10154371872047147 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I read something last night saying Disney was going to be closing all of its beaches to vacationers permanently out of extreme caution. I think that may be a bit drastic, but I can tell you I wasn't planning on venturing out to the one at our resort with my grandkids when we are there in September. I live in Louisiana, and though I know alligator attacks are rare, I'm not a fan of murky water period. We like swimming pools (and the gulf when it's as clear as a swimming pool). I know this was a tragic accident, and no one is to blame, but I have seriously found it difficult to not think (probably overthink because I'm that kind of person) about the horror that man must be feeling. I cannot even fathom his grief and pain (the mom's either of course). It's just devastating. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I think the thing with visitors might be that even if they know there are alligators in Florida, they probably don't have a very good sense of where they will be, apart from in a swamp. Not everyone is concious of sharks in the ocean, either. I live on the ocean, but no one here worries about sharks, they just don't attack swimmers here. The worst that happens is someone gets one on a fishing line and it is a pain to get it off. I would want to be told if sharks were a real risk in a particular tourist place. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 It says in one article that it was 15 yards, which is more like 45 feet. Since the water was dark, and really, even if it were not dark and he were simply submerged and they were trying to get to him, it would have been too far for them to reach him in a reasonable amount of time before he would have drowned. The one I read definitely said feet, but you're probably right that it was yards, because that makes a lot more sense. The article I read probably got mangled by some reporter too impatient to fact check anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I haven't seen any mean comments about the parents, thank goodness. But I've seen supportive ones telling the nasty people to shut up. Obviously I feel nothing but compassion for the family of this child. Maybe this incident will help to reverse the trend of armchair parenting and vicious attacks on people who are already suffering beyond imagination. We've been to Disney and I would never have thought of the risk of an alligator attack. What's more, when we were in a tropical country, my kids and I got somewhat close to a small gator who was sticking its nose out of the water. People who aren't from alligator territory have no concept of the risks. I like Disney but it does sound like they could have done more, if it's true that their signs didn't point out alligator risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwickimom Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 My understanding is that he was a foot from the edge of the water, and that people are confusing that with "on a foot of water". My family knows a close personal friend of theirs and they said he was not in the water and the media has it all wrong. The media has changed their story 3 times from 2 foot of water, to 1 foot of water, to ankle deep water so I am inclined to believe our friend. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 This is graphic, but for those thinking about the travesty of drowning a few feet from parents, I think I can explain. It's been quite a while since I lived in Florida, but I seem to remember being told as a kid that alligators don't have enzymes to digest fresh meat. So they grab anything near them that's edible, spin it to drown (& kill), and then usually wedge the creature under a log or some debris in the water to weigh it down and let it rot until they can digest it. So while someone might lose a limb, usually if one attacks a human they are able to find the body in the water somewhere very close nearby. We swam in the Suwanee river multiple times as kids. Sometimes we'd get in the boat and go across the river to the springs, but a lot of times my parents were much more concerned about us getting killed by a fish (jumping sturgeon) while we were in the boat than they were about gators. At the same time, several times a summer a gator would go after a neighbor's free-ranging chickens, after which the gator would have to be killed. When they start attacking livestock they start associating people with food, and then become dangerous. The men would go out and quietly look, usually find the gator in the canal in less than 20 minutes, shoot it, and we'd have gator tail for Sunday dinner. It happened several times a summer. If anyone had seen a gator in the canal recently, we weren't allowed to swim. I don't know if having the house directly across the river from some springs meant we were less likely to see gators (colder water) or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BooksandBoys Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 I was lucky. My child survived a horrific accident. My heart goes out to these parents because, sadly, I'm well and personally acquainted with the horrible things people say about the parents when tragedies happen. I'm so sad that their names have been published. I'd like to hope they won't receive hate mail/email/Facebook messages, but I doubt they'll be that lucky. My heart goes out to the poor family. I usually avoid threads (and news) about child tragedies, but I'm glad I read this one. As a Midwesterner/Westerner/New Englander, I didn't know all these details about how to protect my kids from gators. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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