Details have emerged of the parents' dramatic rescue attempt to save their son after the toddler was dragged into the water by an alligator during a movie night at a popular Disney resort in Orlando.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said more than 50 law enforcement officers and two marine units were still in search of the two-year-old, who was taken into the Seven Seas Lagoon near Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
After more than three and a half hours, the missing boy had not been found but Sheriff Demings said the search would not end until the child was found.
Citing multiple witness accounts, Sheriff Demings said the boy was playing at the edge of the lake in about one foot of water when the alligator struck.
He confirmed reports the father jumped into the lake and tried to wrestle the child from the alligators jaws but was unsucessful.
The couple raised the alarm with lifeguards but by that time the alligator had disappeared with the child.Sheriff Demings said he believed the mother entered the water at one point also in a desperate attempt to retrieve their child.
A 911 call was received at 9.16pm local time.
"As a father, as a grandfather we're going to hope for the best but based upon my 35 years in law enforcement, we know we have some challenges ahead at this time," Sheriff Demings said.
"We will continue until we have a peaceful resolution. We're not leaving until we recover the child."
He said the family was vacationing from Nebraska and comprised of a mother, a father and three children.
Katherine White Popp, whose room is directly outside where the child was taken, said she overheard the mother's screams.
"Just heard the mother grieving her baby. My heart is shattered. I'm standing outside watching them search for someone's baby," she wrote on Twitter.
Ms Popp, who is visiting the resort, said the search party was growing by the minute.
News.com.au contacted the resort, but staff were not willing to comment on the matter.
Several people on social media said the child was on the beach at the time watching a movie.
A.J. Jain, a guest at the hotel, told The Orlando Sentinel he and his family were playing at the beach just hours earlier.
"I'm just here to say a prayer," he said. "I can't imagine what those parents are going through. "It's been one tough week in Orlando."
Search party is growing pic.twitter.com/AwpHtHwgXy— Katherine White Popp (@KatherinePopp) June 15, 2016
The hotel is an upscale luxury resort owned by Disney and is one of three hotels on the monorail line.
It is just one stop from the Magic Kingdom Park.
The Seven Seas Lagoon is popular with water lovers and boating enthusiasts.
The resort's beach pool is directly next to the lake and overlooks the Seven Seas Lagoon.
Alexander DeMella, who was watching the events unfold from his Disney balcony, told news.com.au resort staff and authorities had said "no one is allowed on the beaches at this time".
"[The search] is still very active and [the] chopper keeps circling," he said.
Florida is renowned for having more alligators than any other US state. Authorities estimate there are between 1.3 million and 2 million alligators across the state.
There were two fatal alligator attacks in Florida last year in the first reported deaths since 2007.
Climate change activists have been warning for years that rising sea levels are pushing Florida's wildlife out of their natural habitat and closer to urban areas.
Florida is considered one of the most vulnerable states in America when it comes to rising sea levels, causing the ocean to start seeping into the Everglades swampland, where alligators live.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, population growth and increasing participation in water-related activities are resulting in more frequent alligator-human interactions.
Search crews at Grand Floridian Beach pic.twitter.com/wTCsxsJwNO— Jim (@JimAdams240) June 15, 2016
The incident is just the latest in a series of tragic events for Orlando.
The Voicesinger Christina Grimmie was shot on Saturday as she signed autographs for fans at a merchandise table in The Plaza Live concert venue.
The gunman, Kevin James Loibl, travelled to Orlando from another Florida city specifically to attack her. Grimmie's brother, Marcus, immediately tackled the gunman, who then shot and killed himself during the struggle.
Then on Sunday morning, 49 people were killed and 53 more were injured after a gunman forced his way into a gay nightclub, making it the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
The shooter, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, opened fire at Pulse nightclub with a handgun and an "AR-15" assault rifle.
The incident also comes after a four-year-old boy fell into the gorilla enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo last month. Keepers were forced to shoot and kill the 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe.
Authorities said the boy, who fell about three metres, was expected to recover after being picked up and dragged by Harambe for about 10 minutes.
Zoo director Thane Maynard said the zoo's dangerous animal response team decided the boy was in "a life-threatening situation" and they needed to put down the 200kg male gorilla.
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