The authorities in Florida searched a lake at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa early today after an alligator snatched a two-year-old boy from the shore.

The mission was still considered a search and rescue operation even though the toddler had been missing since late yesterday, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said at a sunrise news conference.

"We determined this two-year-old child was playing at the edge of the water, a foot or so into the water, when this alligator came up and attacked the child," he said.

"The father did his best. Tried to rescue the child, however, to no avail." The child belonged a family of five from the Midwestern state of Nebraska that was relaxing on the shore of a man-made lake at the upscale Disney resort hotel, Demings said.

The lake is part of a Disney complex that includes another hotel. Both are connected to the Magic Kingdom, one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. "We have not been able to locate that child," Demings said. "We will continue the search throughout the course of the evening."