Disney World alligator attack: Police believe the toddler dragged by a Florida alligator is dead

Officials also said they were investigating the role of Disney

Alligators are common throughout Florida (AFP)

Officials in Florida have said they now consider the toddler taken by an alligator at a Disney resort could not have survived and were now working to recover its body. They also revealed that Disney was part of a criminal investigation into the incident.

Orange County Sheriff, Jerry Demings said on Tuesday morning that it was more than 15 hours since the two-year-old from Nebraska had been taken. “There were eye witnesses who saw the child taken under the water,” he said.

Four alligators had been euthanised during the search for the child, dragged into a lagoon by one of the creatures at the Seven Seas lagoon at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Orlando. Yet none of the animals were deemed to have been involved in taking the child.

The police officer also said there was ongoing criminal investigation into the incident. Asked whether that included Disney and its role in what happened,Mr Demings said: “That is correct”.