INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Matt And Melissa Graves Photos: Parents Of Lane Graves, 2, Killed By Alligator, Defended On Facebook

By Paula Mooney
Published on: 10:11 PST, Jun 15, 2016

The photos of Matt and Melissa Graves and their 2-year-old son Lane have emerged online in the wake of the Graves boy being declared dead. As reported by the Daily Mail, Lane’s body was recovered intact. The young Graves toddler had been drowned by the alligator, but apparently not consumed in a manner would have left him not intact.

Matt and Melissa Graves had arrived from Elkhorn — which is near Omaha, Nebraska — to what is supposed to be the happiest place on Earth. The Graves couple came from Nebraska for a vacation on Sunday with Lane — along with Matt and Melissa’s other child, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

Little Lane was wading in shallow water at the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Matt heard a noise in the water and before long, Graves found himself wrestling with an alligator who had grabbed Lane and taken him into the water.

Now photos of Matt and Melissa are appearing online, with each of the parents shown in photos holding Lane in happier times. Lane’s body was recovered on Wednesday, June 15, at 1:45 p.m.

Jeffrey Demings, with the Orange County Sheriff’s office, said that the Graves Family had been told of Lane’s death, as well as a Catholic priest. While Matt and Melissa were understandably distraught at the news, it was a bit of a relief for the Graves that Lane’s body had been found intact.

As seen in the above retweet from the Twitter account of the Orange County Sheriff, the Graves Family appreciates everyone’s prayers. Now authorities are looking into whether it was one of the five alligators that they already captured that was the one who killed Lane. Authorities will continue to search until they find the alligator that killed Lane.

Meanwhile, one woman who calls Matt her boss has taken to Facebook to defend Matt and Melissa against any of the backlash that the Graves are receiving. Heavy reports that Matt works for a technology firm. As soon as news broke on Tuesday evening that Lane had been wading in the lagoon and snatched by an alligator, some criticism broke out online, asking about Matt and Melissa’s role in the melee.

Katie Casey shared WOWT 6 News‘s post on Facebook and defended the Graves as parents.

“After crying with colleagues all morning and afternoon and hearing/reading negative comments on the parenting of the 2-year-old boy, I am outraged. Our boss Matt Graves was doing what anyone else would do on vacation. Colleagues and myself go to Disney often and walk that beach carefree. I was just at that very location on my honeymoon and was walking in the water at night with no sight of ‘alligator warnings’ anywhere. I would not have joined movie night on the beach or felt safe to do water activities if I knew there were alligators in there. I have always known it was a MAN MADE lagoon and there are so many [activities] on and off shore that it didn’t occur to me to even think of my safety from alligators. I don’t see how anyone with a heart can go on social media and bad mouth Matt Grave’s parenting and attempt to damage his name during such a terrible time. Don’t you think he feels broken enough? None of the Grave’s family did anything wrong whatsoever. ?#?RestInPeaceLane? #?InGodsHandsNow?“

The Facebook post noted that Matt wrestled with the alligator at the Seven Seas Lagoon. The alligator attack is reminiscent of the plight of Michael and Lindy Chamberlain, a Seventh Day Adventist priest and his wife who lost their baby to a dingo while on vacation in the Australian outback. Lindy said she saw the dog-like dingo creature leave the tent carrying something in its mouth. Public opinion shifted and accused the couple of murdering their own child. Lindy’s conviction was overturned, reports the Wall Street Journal, when it was proved that the wild dog had, in fact, killed the baby.

[Photo by AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack]

Share this article: Matt And Melissa Graves Photos: Parents Of Lane Graves, 2, Killed By Alligator, Defended On Facebook
More from Inquisitr