ORLANDO, Fla._Rescue crews searched a pond in east Orange County after receiving a report of a boy "flailing" in the water, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Deputies received a call around noon from a man who claimed to see a person struggling in the water. The man said he heard the swimmer scream, "It bit me," sheriff's spokesman Jeff Williamson said.
More than a dozen emergency vehicles and several helicopters responded to the scene. Air boats and alligator-removal units also responded. Although authorities haven't yet found the swimmer, the original call was "credible," Williamson said.
Deputies searched the neighborhood. No teens were reported missing in the area, Williamson said.
"We're in a search and rescue operation. We are scanning the water with sonar devices from our marine unit," he said. "So far we have not seen anything. We will be out here until we do see something or until the sheriff gives us the command to leave the scene."
Chad Weber, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the case was being treated as a missing person and "possible drowning," but not yet as an alligator attack. "Right now, we're just assisting the Orange County Sheriff's Office with a potentially missing person. We're not even sure if there's an alligator involved," he said.
Authorities say a 6-foot alligator was found during a search of the pond _ too small to inflict serious damage on a human.
