WATCH: Massive Alligator Swims in Disney World Lagoon Just Months Before Toddler Was Snatched in Same Waters

The alligator was spotted in the Seven Seas Lagoon just months before 2-year-old Lane Graves was attacked and killed

Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

A massive alligator was spotted swimming in a Walt Disney World lake in April – just months before a 2-year-old boy was killed by one of the animals in the same murky waters.

A source tells PEOPLE she was in the area in April when her daughter spotted the alligator swimming in Seven Seas Lagoon near Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

A video of the scene shows the animal moving slowly through the water with its nose barely breaking the surface – the creature appeared to swim just feet from the shore.

That same month, a Kentucky family also spotted an alligator in the lagoon.

The footage was taken just two months before 2-year-old Lane Graves, from Nebraska, was dragged into the lagoon by an alligator and killed.

The toddler’s body was found completely intact by Orange County Sheriff’s dive team on Wednesday – less than a day after the boy was taken by the animal around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The creature is believed to be between four to seven feet long.

“Autopsy has to confirm, but there’s likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator,” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said of Graves on Wednesday.

“The child was found within the immediate area of where he was last seen. It took some time to go through, but our divers were able to locate the body using sonar equipment.”

The alligator came out of the lagoon and grabbed the boy as he waded in about a foot of water that night. His father’s desperate attempt to free the boy from the animal’s grip were unsuccessful, authorities have said.

Related Video: Hometown of 2-Year-Old Boy Killed After Being Snatched by Alligator Reacts to Tragedy

A massive search for the boy ensued, with authorities initially calling the situation a search and rescue mission.

However, optimism waned as the hours passed.

“We are working on recovering the body of the child at this point,” Demings said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

He added that the boy’s family will “no question lose a 2-year-old child.”

Meanwhile, Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said this week that the resort has been “very proactive” regarding alligators spotted on its properties.

“They have a full-time staff observing these waters and they have essentially an open permit system where any time they see an alligator or a complaint is called in, it can be taken out,” he said.