A teenage boy who is missing in Orlando was last seen swimming in a pond before he suddenly screamed ‘It bit me!’ and disappeared under the water.
Florida Fish and Wildlife officers spent hours combing the pond on Wednesday afternoon in search for the teen, who has still not been found.
Deputies cleared the scene after it got dark and said they would be back in the morning to continue looking for the boy, who was possibly attacked by an alligator.
A teenage boy who is missing in Orlando was last seen swimming in this pond before he suddenly screamed ‘It bit me!’ and disappeared under the water
Eric Wolfe was at home on his lunch break just before noon when he heard the boy screaming from the nearby pond.
‘Basically, I heard “It bit me” and a lot of screaming,’ he told WKMG.
Wolfe, who was in his backyard at the time, went back into his home and grabbed a pair of binoculars so he could get a better look while calling 911.
‘I had eyes on him the whole time and relayed his position to dispatch, and he went underwater and didn’t come up,’ he said.
Wolfe said emergency responders were at the pond within eight minutes of his 911 call.
Florida Fish and Wildlife officers spent hours searching the pond on Wednesday afternoon in search for the teen, who has still not been found
Deputies cleared the scene after it got dark and said they would be back in the morning to continue looking for the boy, who was possibly attacked by an alligator
Neighbors have said that alligators moved into the pond over the last few years and some reported seeing a 6-foot gator there on Wednesday.
Wolf said four alligators reside in the pond, and that an 8-foot gator is known to swim in the area where the teen was last seen.
‘Could have been a simple drowning, but there’s also a lot of alligators,’ he told Fox 35. ‘There’s a big male that hangs out in that area.’
FWC Officer Chad Weber said the agency is currently treating the incident as a missing person and possible drowning case.
They have not yet confirmed whether an alligator was involved.
Eric Wolfe (pictured) was at home on his lunch break just before noon when he heard the boy screaming from the nearby pond and called 911
Wolf said the pond has four alligators and that an 8-foot gator is known to swim around where the teenager was last seen
Authorities, who found a shirt and shoe next to the water, have not yet been able to identify the teenage boy.
Officials from the Orange County Fire Rescue, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are involved in the search.
Sonar devices are being used to scan the water and more equipment will be brought in to aid with the search.
Wolf said there is a fence and ‘no trespassing’ signs around the pond, where teens are known to often fish.
‘Hopefully I didn’t see what I saw and it’s not a tragic incident,’ he said.
‘If it is, God be with him.’