THE body of a two-year-old boy snatched by an alligator at a Disney resort has now been recovered.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings confirmed that the toddler’s body was found in the water about 3.30pm, local time, after more than 15 hours of searching the Seven Seas Lagoon in Orlando, Florida.

Sheriff Demings identified the young boy as two-year-old Lane Graves of Nebraska, whose parents are Matt and Melissa Graves.

He said the body was found “completely intact” near the attack site, leading authorities to believe the alligator drowned the toddler.

His body will now be turned over to Orange County officers for an autopsy.

The boy was dragged into the water by an alligator at 9pm Tuesday, local time, while wading in about a foot of water during a movie night at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

Mr Graves desperately tried to rescue his son but was unsuccessful.

According to eyewitnesses, the toddler’s mother, Ms Graves, was playing with him at the time and also dived into the water.

“The parents diligently tried to get the child,” Sheriff Demings said.

The 2-year-old boy grabbed by alligator at Disney hotel has been found dead, a source says https://t.co/SyWdOq9L87 https://t.co/xLMVr0orfE — CNN (@CNN) June 15, 2016

Earlier on Wednesday, Orlando authorities told reporters there was “no question” that the young boy was dead.

Sheriff Demings said a recovery operation was under way to find the child’s body in the lagoon and “bring some closure to this family.” After a 15-hour search, the attack was “certainly not survivable at this point”, Sheriff Demings said.

Five alligators have already been caught in the lagoon and euthanised for analysis.

A crew of more than 50 people, including experienced alligator trappers and sheriff’s department divers using sonar equipment, helicopters and boats searched the network of man-made canals, ponds and lakes to recover the boy’s body. Authorities contacted the boy’s family to express their condolences, Sheriff Demings said, adding “there is no question we will lose a two-year-old child”.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission executive director Nick Wiley said during a press conference that the incident was “extremely rare” and that officers were doing everything they could to prevent another attack.

“It’s very surprising, it’s an extremely rare occurrence in anywhere you have alligators, but we do ask people to be mindful that we do have alligators in the water in Florida and you have to be careful,” Mr Wiley said. “But it’s very rare and it really is a shock to us to see this happen.”

Disney has now closed all resort beaches “out of an abundance of caution” until further notice, a Disney spokesperson said Wednesday morning.

Sheriff Demings said “this type of thing” had never happened before in Disney’s 45 years of operations.

On Tuesday, Sheriff Demings said the child was snatched while on holiday with his mother, father and two siblings.

The family checked into the resort on June 12 and the boy was playing at the water’s edge when the alligator stuck, according to eyewitnesses at the scene.

“There were eyewitnesses here who certainly saw the child taken under the water,” Sheriff Demings said.

Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahaler said everyone at the resort was devastated by what happened and Disney was helping the family.

When asked if Disney was aware of alligators on the property, Wahaler advised there were signs that said “no swimming”. Demings said there had been no other recent reports of similar alligator attacks on the lake.

Police said witnesses described the alligator as being between 1.2 and 2.1 metres long.

Sheriff Demings said the father suffered from minor scratches on his hands and believed the mother also entered the water at one point in a desperate attempt to retrieve their child.

The couple raised the alarm with lifeguards but by that time the alligator had disappeared with the child.

A 911 call was received at 9.16pm local time.

Responders at Disney World searching for boy who was dragged into a lagoon by an alligator. https://t.co/suskABi6UPhttps://t.co/AfEdaZei5G — Josh Berlinger (@j_berlingerCNN) June 15, 2016

‘MY HEART IS SHATTERED’

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.

Staff at the resort were unwilling to comment on the incident.

Several people on social media said the child was on the beach at the time watching a movie.

AJ 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.”

In the past week, The Voice singer Christina Grimmie was shot dead and 49 people were also killed in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub by gunman Omar Mateen in a terror attack.

The hotel is an upscale luxury resort owned by Disney and is one of three hotels on the monorail line.

It is one stop from the Magic Kingdom Park and the Seven Seas Lagoon is popular with water lovers and boating enthusiasts. The resort’s beach pool is 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 that 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.

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.

WAS DISNEY RESPONSIBLE?

Sheriff Demings confirmed there was a sign near the water warning people not to swim.

It is unknown whether the signs mentioned anything about alligators crawling in the waters.

A Disney spokeswoman did not go into detail about the tragic incident but said the resort was devastated and was helping the family and authorities.

Sheriff Demings said police had not received any recent reports or complaints about nuisance alligators but authorities will conduct further investigations.

A witness told a journalist at the Orlando Sentinel they reported a sighting of an alligator to police prior to the attack on the toddler, but Sheriff Demings said he was unaware of the report.

Tonight at Walt Disney's Grand Floridian Hotel crews search Seven Seas Lagoon for possible alligator attack victim pic.twitter.com/lVSOxivh05 — Shawn Powers (@Shawn_Powers) June 15, 2016

There was a "movie night" outside on the beach tonight... Saying the alligator might have attacked the baby on the beach. — ChristianTheMagician (@Menardness) June 15, 2016

The location of where the 2yr old is missing. Alligator seen dragging child into the water. #BreakingNews #Orlando pic.twitter.com/8AUeiXdmBk — Stewart Moore (@Stewartmoore) June 15, 2016

Search crews at Grand Floridian Beach pic.twitter.com/wTCsxsJwNO — Jim (@JimAdams240) June 15, 2016

Search party is growing pic.twitter.com/AwpHtHwgXy — Katherine White Popp (@KatherinePopp) June 15, 2016

The incident 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.