Boy, 3, Apparently Grabbed By Alligator

A 3-year-old boy playing with his dog on the banks of a lake disappeared with a big splash Friday and his mother told authorities that he may have been grabbed by an alligator.

Sheriff’s divers and a helicopter crew searched until nightfall at the 3,200-acre lake, which only reaches seven feet at its deepest point, but pulled out without finding a sign of the boy or an alligator. After dark, two trappers moved in, planning to remain on the lake until daylight.

The boy’s mother, Lorri Binford, said she didn’t see an alligator grab Adam Trevor Binford, who was standing in knee-deep water. Adam was playing with his 8-year-old brother, Evan, and a dog, who were on the lake’s bank.

Two nuisance alligators, one 10-feet, 8-inches long and another 7-feet, 7-inches long were trapped and removed from the lake last year, said Lt. Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, who was at the scene. So far, there have been no reports of any problem alligators this year.