Photo for Headline Surfer / TOP LEFT: Orange County Sheriff Jerry L. Demings speaks to the media about a fatal gator attack at Disney on June 14, 2016, thatv resulted in the death of Nebraska toddler Lane Graves. TOP INSET: NSBPD's Mark Severance with his wife, Denise, along with their son, Cody, killed in a 1988 car accident. Severance reflects on Father's Day as it relates to the turmoil on this special day of a total stranger, Matt Graces of Nebraska, whose son, Lane, was killed by a gator at a Disney Resort five nights earlier.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- When it comes to policing, few are as mentally and physically tough as Mark Severance, a patrol sergeant in the New Smyrna Beach police force and a former Marine.
Severance can relate to the horror and grief felt by the Nebraska dad of the little boy killed by an alligator Tuesday night at a posh Disney resort near the water's edge. After all, today is Father's Day.
In Severance's case, the oldest of his two sons was born on Father's Day. And that same son's life was cut short, too, And though, Severance's persaonal hell occurred 28 years ago, it stays with him to this day.
And so Severance had no hesitation in sharing his thouughts on tragic cicumstances and how one ccomes to grips with them in the moment and longterm.
"When I learned of the incident where the alligator took the boy, my heart sank because I, too, know the pain of such a loss," Severance said. "In 1988, I lost my 22-month-old son in a tragic car accident. It's unimaginable the feeling or loss and helplessness this family from Nebraska is experiencing. My heart goes out to them."
Severance continued: There are no words to console -- just the love and support of community, family and friends. May God give them His peace and understanding."
"When I learned of the incident where the alligator took the boy, my heart sank because I, too, know the pain of such a loss," Severance said. "In 1988, I lost my 22-month-old son in a tragic car accident. It's unimaginable the feeling or loss and helplessness this family from Nebraska is experiencing. My heart goes out to them.
Severance continued: There are no words to console -- just the love and support of community, family and friends. May God give them His peace and understanding."
Here are sone key details on the fatal Disney gator encounter:
• Victim: Lane Thomas Graves, age 2, from Elkhorn, Nebraska
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• Location: The Seven Seas Lagoon outside Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
• Situation: The toddler was wading in ankle-deep water near the shoreline around 9:00 p.m. when a 7-foot alligator attacked. His father tried to pry the animal's jaws open, but the gator dragged the boy underwater.
• Recovery: Authorities recovered the boy's body the following afternoon.
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