Events In Huntington Beach, Articles B

When you left his exhibit, you loved the snakes, and I hasve never been afraid of them for the rest of my life. Alligator seen dragging child into the water. Nice to see the photos again. A Disney spokeswoman did not go into detail about the tragic incident but said the resort was devastated and was helping the family and authorities. Lots of people like me. My "fondest" memory: sitting on the side of the crock pit with my butt hanging over the edge, the wall wasn't but a couple feet tall, right? In 1964, a book was written about him. On one trip, Dr. Haast was there, but not in his office or outside on the lawn as usual. I asked him one evening if I could walk with him he said yes in the baritone of gentle command. My first visit to the Serpentarium was in the summer of '56 when I visited family friends who lived on Key Biscayne. My father used to deliver popcorn to the Miami Serpentarium in the late 60's early 70's and I used to love to watch Mr. Haast handle the King Cobras. Glad to see many others share great memories of the Serpentarium. He always survived and promoted his anti-snake venom that saved many other lives. Is it the venom? We have tried to cover and visualize some, we have implemented a hook with a strip to see if it pulls something, but to no avail. While the rest of the crew was out having fun in the exotic locales, he bought exotic snakes. When I was a small boy of 8-9 years old in the mid sixties, a distinguished gentleman would walk by our house in the early morning like clockwork. Inside the bag was a cardboard box with holes in it. Shame on Hass and the parents this poor animal was slaughtered. A doctor at the hospital where the boy, was taken said the child was practically dead on arrival from drowning in association with multiple traumatic injuries., See the article in its original context from. They paid my mother something like $10 or more for the snake. "My other children act strong, but one realises that they are sad. This subspecies, restricted to the Florida Keys, obviously was named for Bill Haast. He would shove the snake's fangs into the top of a vial and watch the venom trickle down. Today, out of print, it's coveted by collectors and sells on eBay for more than $100, a testament to Haast's popularity. The injections are a routine he began in 1948 -- the year he opened the Serpentarium -- and continued after he closed it in 1984. But there is no reason to visit Miami. Today Dec26, 2008 I am looking at his picture some 45 years later and hooks the same. .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, In those days there were no laws prohibiting it, but the crew members didn't appreciate it.[6]. That was in 1971 and I kept that car until 3 years ago when I sold it for 35000.00 in pieces. Haast could not make the ceremony, so part of the ceremony came to him. I recall going with my brother to the airport to pick her up upon her arrival. It was slithering across the road, which was about 11 feet across and the snakes head and tail were not clearly visible. All times AEDT (GMT +11). In an enclosure) his parents should have supervised him much better. All he did was yell ouch and that concludes the show for today. ''I can no longer open my hands wide or make a fist,'' Haast explained. 2, my first Indigo. One of the girls fainted right in my dad's arms! Every so often the evening news would announce "Bill Haast had been bitten by a poisonous snake AGAIN." IE 11 is not . I'm 5'2 from s city in north Jersey myself, and the snake was about my size! I visited many times in the 60's - 70's. Cruz called Haast after a man was bitten by a Black Mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes of Africa. "It was his adopted city. A small alligator, maybe 5 foot with tail had gotten loose and was wandering. Name a deadly snake and Bill Haast has either tamed it or been bitten by it. My interest of reptiles was clearly fromed by Dr. Hasst and I have passed on some of it to my kids who now have a Bearded Dragon Dr. Hasst is a true legend.. CAKEGATE 2023: Bad Bunny's Restaurant Accused of Gobbling Birthday Girl's Cake, Death Train: A Timeline of Brightline Fatalities in South Florida UPDATED, Neighborhood Nazi Jon Minadeo Peddles Hate by the Minute, Sen. Rubio's Permanent Daylight Savings Bill Sees Light of Day Once More, NFL Legend Ray Lewis Joins World Jai-Alai League Board of Directors, Affordable New "Micro-Units" Slated for Little River, Edgewater. Eventually Bill charmed that snake and on one of its downstrikes quicker than the snake could react Bill had it behind the head and then as a finale milked a big load of venom. I . I got my love of snakes (I'm a girl) growing up in Miami going repeatedly to the Serpentarium. Sincerely, an understanding and appreciative person! One day I noticed his handshis fingersthey were deformend, mangled, sort of like a something from an old horror moviea result--one of many, of having been bitten by so many venomous snakesI think his own blood was an anti-venom, as a result of being bitten so much, I think he used to distribute this "antivenom (his blood)worldwide to snakebite vicims. The concrete & stucco cobra was the second icon of the Serpentarium. ''From the first day I walked into the Miami Serpentarium, I knew that was for me,'' he said. Haast and his teenage son, Bill Jr., began constructing snake pits, the beginning of the Serpentarium. We gave Dr.Haast large Andaconda in 1965". Regarding Bill Haast's killing of Cookie the crocodile, bothe Bill Guest and jesse are wrong. It was'nt the aninmal's fault that boy fell into the pit (the alligator was where he was suppose to be. Airports to Fly Out of, Humane Society of Broward County Kicks Off VCA Walk for the Animals in Fort Lauderdale, She Was Loved': Family Speaks Out After Driver Arrested in Margate Crash That Killed Mother, Hospitalized Child, Miami-Dade Mayor, State Attorney Announce New Measures to Protect HOA Residents, From Haiti Through Liberty City to Top Federal Prosecutor in South Florida: the Unlikely Story of Markenzy Lapointe, Check Your Change! An eight-year-old boy was mauled to death by a crocodile just metres from his family home in Malaysia. After the United States entered World War II, Haast served as a flight engineer on Pan Am airliners flying under contract to the United States Army Air Corps. I was a nurse in the ICU at Variety Children's Hospital on at least three of Haast's admissions after snake bites. She would take some of her snakes to Bill Haast. In the early 1970s, I was carrying out a survey to document the status of certain native reptiles and amphibians of a seven-county area iof siytgh Florida. Now if I can find out more about The Colonel? At 19, he got a job with a roadside snake attraction. ''I hit him over the head, trying to get him to let go.'' He briefly lived in Utah and returned to Florida to live in Charlotte County 18 years ago. We watched the show (I don't remember if the presenter was Mr. Haast), and afterwards, Scot was encouraged to touch several snakes. Haast eventually returned home, married and enrolled in airplane-mechanic school, but Florida called. killed David Mark Wasson of West Palm Beach, Fla. There were others I recall, Monkey Jungle, Parrot Jungle, but none had the that eye catching element of suspense like The Serpentarium. THE BAND FROM SOUTH MIAMI HIGH RODE WITH THE COBRA TO THE SCHOOL ON A FLAT BED TRUCK WITH THE BAND HAPPILY PLAYING AND BEATING THEIR DRUMS--SUDDENLY--SEVERAL CARS AHEAD OF ME THE SNAKE --WHICH WAS PLANTED STRAIGHT UP--SUDDENLY FELL APART ON THE TRUCK --JUST SORT OF DISENTAGRATED --AND THE BOTTOM WAS RUINED--BUT A SMALL PART INCLUDING THE HEAD REMAINED-AND APPEARED UNDAMAGED---AND I PRESUME--MADE IT SAFELY TO THE SCHOOL--J. MUDD. It was damaged by a hurricane in 2005 and they just built a new one. I. Woww! Then years later I lived in Punta Gorda on Washington Loop, when Bill Haast moved there. My girlfiends and I would catch 7 - 8 foot Indio snakes and we would beg my mother to drive us over to the Serpentarium so we could sell the snakes to Dr. Haas. Read More on The US Sun. When walking down a hallway, I passed an open door. He was known as the "go-to guy" for snakebites. The Serpentarium opened at the end of 1947, still not completed. In August 2020, the remains of a 14-year-old boy were cut from a crocodile's stomach after the reptile ate him alive. Today, Van Horn owns Reptile World Serpentarium near St. I think one of the two men was Mr. Haast himself. BILL PUT ON HIS MILKING SHOW WHEN A SNAKE IN BILL'S HAND WIGGLED AROUND AND SPRAYED A WHITE LIQUID FROM THE REAR OF THE SNAKE INTO THE CROWD AND ACROSS THIS WOMEN'S LEGS IN FRONT OF US. The cobra that Elliot Arkin made was the one inside the building across from the office. When I was in high school I worked at the Serpentarium and even helped out with the King Cobra Shows on the weekend. [2] After closing the Serpentarium, he opened the Miami Serpentarium Laboratories, a facility in Punta Gorda, Florida that produced snake venom for medical and research use. In 1954 Haast was bitten by a common, or blue, krait. The boy's father and uncle jumped into the ?it and tried to pry open the crocodile's mouth. Haast maintained a similar bank in Miami when he ran the Serpentarium theme park, which closed in 1984. That was South Dade, Florida, relatively free of the most venomous snakes because Bill Hass and the Serpentarium. He didn't do it out of anger because the crocodile was just doing what comes naturally to him, Clarita Haast said. Except for the grey hair and receding hairline I would have said 'hasn't changed a bit". He was able to identify the type of snake that bit me by the bite marks. All rights reserved, See Where Florida Ranks Among The Cheapest and Most Expensive U.S. The parents diligently tried to get the child, Sheriff Demings said. Nya used to take us after hours to the Serpentariumm to watch her Dad and his workers feed the animals. Now the spotlight is on three other deaths that are linked to the case. And I still do as if it happened yesterday. I would take the rattlesnake skins and rub salt into them to try to preserve them. A second boy, 15, was bitten but escaped. ''I always meant for the attraction to support the venom research, but it just kept growing and growing. Thanks for the memories, as Bob Hope would say. Looking back I'm glad it was in the dark because I never saw the snake Approximately an hour later my foot started aching and my parents looked all over my legs and feet for a bite mark. The boy's body has still not been found, and emergency services have run into difficulty with their search in recent days due to heavy rain. Haast physically extracted venom from venomous snakes by holding them by the head and forcing them to bite a rubber membrane covering a vial. Rescuers were able to recover his body from the water in December 2020, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. ", Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Its been one tough week in Orlando.. In the late 1940s, it occurred to Haast that the symptoms of polio mirrored the nerve and muscle disruption caused by a cobra bite. I was a child in Florida in the 60's and I saw many, many of Dr. Hasst's shows and remember being concerned the snakes might get away and come towards me of course they never did.. I sure do remember Mr. Haast as I bought the 1969 GT500 Shelby that he once owned. See the article in its original context from. He suffered 17 bites that nearly killed him, one put him in an iron lung for three days, his system paralyzed. His wife Nancy and I had been pleasantly talking an she was so fearful that she held my arm and squeezed hard, all the while telling me that a bite from that king cobra would likely kill Bill , because up to that point he had been bitten some 23 times , but never by a king cobra one drop of which can kill 5 men. There were two fatal alligator attacks in Florida last year in the first reported deaths since 2007. In his trademark white lab coat, he would approach a venomous reptile, lure it with one hand and grab its head with the other. But I always felt I would live this long. He died of natural causes on Wednesday in Punta Gorda, on Florida's west coast, where he had made his home. "We're the only fire-based response team in the world." When I was young I was always interested in snakes. Bill Haast, the crocodile's owner, was not talking to reporters. We entered the Serpentarium and a fellow (Haas) walked out of the back office to greet the tourists and said" he's dead" referring to John F. Kennedy, President of the USA. My granddaddy was Robert Kundtz, horticulurist. Boy, 8, mauled to death by crocodile in front of horrified parents after being dragged underwater as he played. Soon after opening the Serpentarium, Haast began experimenting with building up an acquired immunity to the venom of King, Indian and Cape cobras by injecting himself with gradually increasing quantities of venom he had extracted from his snakes, a practice called mithridatism. But he felt he couldn't continue to feed the crocodile and display him under these conditions.. The 35' cobra ended up on the roof (south side) of South Miami Senior High-my old high school-where it served proudly for many years. Several people on social media said the child was on the beach at the time watching a movie. 10 junio, 2022 the contact angle on a thigh and drive tackle is. Haast is still trying to prove a point: He'll go to his grave believing venom can heal. I'm sorry I can never take my grandchildren there. His cane was an exotic mixture of ebony and ivory. I lived across South Dixie Highway from the Miami Serpentarium. She had given me some information on the Serpentarium and I got interested in Indigo Snakes. Haast added a snake exhibit to the business. But none the less just because Mr. Hass felt bad about what happened he, Haas, shot the alligator for no reason. Very cool regular people with a very irregular life and lifestyle.loved them..they enriched my lifewould love to see how big the oaktree is now that grew up through their pool screen enclosure. Quite a memory! Great job on the article! carpet warehouse became the new home for several large ( 2 to 4 foot ) lizards, which I guess, were living in the trees and were never captured. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. The location of where the 2yr old is missing. "One hypothesis is that the animal took the child to the burrow or cave, and there are burrows and caves, but we don't know which one of them it is. I have Ophidiophobia (not herpetophobia the fear of reptiles) a true fear of snakes. Miami's independent source of Eventually, his collection became one of the most diverse venomous snakes on the planet. There, sitting at a desk was Bill Haast. In 1982 when I was twelve I moved from England to Hollywood, Fl with my family. To this day it is one of our most treasured possesions. ''I would hide them in my tool box,'' he said. Haast jumped down into the pit. I also supplied 40 desert sidewinder rattlesnakes for Jim to exhibit in a large glass fronted cage filled with sea sand. Florida is renowned for having more alligators than any other US state. In 1984, Haast, who is said to have never fully recovered from the . C.C. Most of the family agreed it was better than any other stops we made, including the newly opened Disney World. She was quite a Mom. It took a group of people to get . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Cookie broke free and took the boy underwater. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. At the same time his work saved dozens of lives. on. CANCUN -- A 12-year-old boy who was bitten by a crocodile at a Mexican resort spoke to "Good Morning America" on Wednesday in his first television interview. Haast saw that a boy had fallen into the crocodile pit. flashbackmiami.com/2013/11/26/serpentarium-2/, Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU OS 15_5 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) GSA/219.0.457350353 Mobile/15E148 Safari/604.1. The show was great. AJ Jain, a guest at the hotel, told The Orlando Sentinel he and his family were playing at the beach just hours earlier. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Every week, Haast still injects his arm with a cocktail of venom from five snakes -- cobras, mambas, kraits, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. His body will now be turned over to Orange County officers for an autopsy. He said at that time if he lived to be 100 it would possibly prove that snake venom is anti aging. Anyone can read what you share. [3] Haast extracted venom from venomous snakes from the time he was a boy. Every year we took a field trip there, and every year I looked forward to it. The boy was dragged into the water by an alligator at 9pm Tuesday, local time, while wading in about a foot of water during a movie night at Disneys Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. I said yes, I got to feed his snakes white mice, met his daughter (she had a pet lion), used to catch snakes and sell them to Mr. I hope you live to 100 to prove snake venon is an anti aging wonder. Source = Youtube. He landed a job with Miami-based Pan American Airways. The 2-year-old boy grabbed by alligator at Disney hotel has been found dead, a source says https://t.co/SyWdOq9L87 https://t.co/xLMVr0orfE. Haast calls it one of the lowest points in his life. ''I knew it was over then.'' When the show headed to Florida, Haast convinced his parents to let him go. At the time I envisioned growing up and working for Bill, learning to snatch & milk snakes. It was a rattle snake. Voted for the photo and the biographical info. While there, a gentleman drove in with a huge python he caught on his property and had in a wire basket. I will enjoy looking over this site over time. In April 2010, a 25-year-old woman from New Jersey was killed by a . ``I feel like a man in his 60s.'' I visited the Serpentarium in the late 70s on a trip down to Key West. After his wife became pregnant, Haast lost his job when the speakeasy he was working at was raided by IRS agents. We would eat the snakes, along with all the fish and snapping turtles we could catch from the Lakeland area lakes. I gathered from what he said that it would not bother him in the least were this variety of snake removed from its separate classification and returned to the larger taxon from which someone had extracted it. My friend Jim Danaaldson who procured and trained animals for the film industry had set up a Reptile Exposition at Devonshire downs and I was an exhibiter . Bill Haast's daughter was in my 4th grade class and we went to the Serpentarium for a field trip. I remeber in 1970 when I went to JFK junior high in miami we went on a field trip to the serpentarium I am now 50 years old and never forgot the place.I did make a serious mistake while there that people I tell find hard to believe.there was this hudge round pit with a wall around it, in it was what looked to me like a large stone grey statue of a crcodile well I went in there touched it and one eye opened and I was out of that pit like a rocket.this crocodile was at least 15 feet long it must have been sleeping lucky for me.Bill left a lifetime of memories for a 13 yearold kid the man truely is a legend that has no equal in the reptile world. What a rush. The couple moved back to New Jersey, where Haast studied aviation mechanics, and was certified after four years. They considered him a glorified snake-handler, a showman, a medicine man. When I was a child in the 1950's, Mama made us stay in the house. He has written a book called 'The World of Snakes. ' Haast routinely injected himself with venom to build up resistance to the ill effects of the inevitable bites. But thanks to Bill, there were not many poisonous snakes left in South Dade in the 60s-70s when I had an youngsters craving for catching reptiles. My oldest brother had met a girl who, I believe, had worked at the Miami Serpentarium. Sheppard gave injections to patients with MS. His clinic became famous and was featured on CBS's 60 Minutes. The giant concrete-and-stucco cobra was donated to South Miami Senior High but fell apart during its move to the school. Authorities estimate there are between 1.3 million and 2 million alligators across the state. It is unknown whether the signs mentioned anything about alligators crawling in the waters. by | Jun 10, 2022 | flying saucer bar locations | metro flexline service manual | Jun 10, 2022 | flying saucer bar locations | metro flexline service manual I have watched tv programs about him on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. Well he is alive and well at the age of 97or 98 and still apparently working with snakes; he said he felt there would come a time when he would not be able work with them but I guest he still is. On September 3, 1977, a 6-year-old boy sitting atop the wall surrounding the Serpentarium's alligator and crocodile pit fell into the pit, and a 12-foot crocodile lunged ten feet and grabbed the boy. We used to hunt non-poisonous snakes in the Glades, Homestead farmlands: king snakes, red ratsnakes, yellow ratsnakes, indigos, black racers, etc., and take them down to mr Haas and he had a yardstick on the table and would measure them by the foot, pay us maybe .25cents/foot for the ratsnake, .35/foot for the kingsnakes, etc. As a joke on him, a staff member placed a rubber snake into one of the boxes that normally held a venomous snake for the show. MIAMI, Sept. 3 (UPI)A 6yearold boy tumbled into a crocodile pit at the Miami Serpentarium today and a 14 foot, 1,800pound African crocodile snapped its jaws around the child's. Staff at the resort were unwilling to comment on the incident. The guy that answered the phone was very calm, and told me to just leave it alone and that it would probably just be on it's way. A 6-year-old boy fell into a crocodile pit and was killed. I grew up living close to the Haast's in the 60's. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. From The Miami Herald, August 3, 2006 FLASHBACK | THE MIAMI SERPENTARIUM 'Miami snakeman' is 95 and still injects himself with venom BY LUISA YANEZ lyanez@MiamiHerald.com IN PUNTA GORDA: Bill Hasst sold his Miami Serpentarium site in Pinecrest in 1984, and settled in southwest Florida. ``If I live to be 100 I'll really make the point.'' For Haast, the weekly shots paid off, helping him to survive 172 venomous snake bites. As a young teenager in the mid 1960's I was very interested in all types of reptiles. It took the 1,800pound reptile an hour to die. The man who mesmerized generations of paying customers from 1947 to 1984 by extracting venom at his Miami Serpentarium as a spine-tingling South Florida attraction is dead. And in July, a woman in Florida died after she fell into a pond and was attacked by two alligators. On that trip, I held the very long Indigo snake, and my friend, Ann, took a picture of me. "My So-Called Life", pg. However, we kept them because they made good pets. I don't know. During World War II, he was aboard flights that delivered food and medicine to Africa and Asia. But the reptile managed to crawl away into a moat in the 50foot square pit, dragging the child with him. Katherine White Popp, whose room is directly outside where the child was taken, said she overheard the mothers screams. Behind him rose an 8-foot concrete cobra statue that once decorated the serpentarium. For years, Haast tried to prove that venom could treat multiple sclerosis, lupus, arthritis and Parkinson's disease. He later received commendations from President Gerald Ford and Miami Mayor Stephen Clark. There he met and eloped with his first wife, Ann. Two men came to our house, & they had a hook on the end of a pole, & a cloth bag, & they soon had the brightly colored but deadly snake in tow. HaastHe paid 0.25 for poisonus and 0.15 for no poisonessHe was a great man and saved thousands of lives with his snake anti-venomBitten numerous time and the only man to sruvive the bite of a Mamba, he insisted on being awake, so he could descirbe the symtoms of the snake bite,He descibed the bite as haluciations and dream world full of vibrant colors. I first heard of Bill Haast around 1955, when reading a "man's magazine" (as they were called back then, probably Argosy. He had so much venom in him that we were told even a bee sting could kill him. The snake had disappeared, but I estimate that the snake, which had at least a one foot girth, was 14 feet or more. This tornado also picked up a dredge crane, working on one of the drainage canals, and placed it across the canal without any significant damage. We watched Mr. Haast with fascination as he milked the snakes. Furthermore, you shouldn't speak about how a parent should have kept a better eye on their dead son. Many times Haast donated his blood to be used in treating snake-bite victims when a suitable anti-venom was not available. His first king cobra bite was in 1962. Join the New Times community and help support Haast's death-defying act didn't disappoint. I graduated from there in 1979. Needless to say I was quite nervous also, thinking of what might happen if that snake went through the crowd. Like I said, we were always grabbing any snakes we came across, and one day finally got a Moccasin. Thanks for the wonderful memories and great work you have done. Ms Popp, who is visiting the resort, said the search party was growing by the minute. "We can't be here, because we spend every time remembering how nice it was to have him here with us. How did he get them through Customs? When we got the photos back, the film was sun damaged, so the next year I went back to hold the Indigo again and friend, Dave took the picture. Authorities said the boy, who fell about three metres, was expected to recover after being picked up and dragged by Harambe for about 10 minutes. I think its horrible that he killed that animal. I'm sure they still carry around enough guilt, even after all this time, without you adding to it. Of course he would buy the rare Indigo snakes, because they could rear up and spread their neck like a Cobra, but were not poisonous. He made special trips, bringing back such perilous species as cobras and saw-scaled vipers. We had an iguana that was too large to keep. It was 2006 and he was still extolling the virtues of venom, saying he injected himself weekly with a cocktail from five snakes cobras, cottonmouths, kraits, mambas and rattlers homeopathy the Food and Drug Administration would never endorse. Haast started collecting snakes and, after initial opposition from his mother, was allowed to keep them at home. NEW Police have found evidence a 12-year-old was killed in a crocodile attack in northern Australia. the shows were fantastic , there was so much to explore everything was clean and the whole haast family were always charming.my family became amateur experts on exotic snakes and have read and watched everything we could over the years.but nothing ever compared to mr. haast. A rare survivor, he declared himself doing "very well, anxious to get back to work.". Thanks again Bill.. Demings said there had been no other recent reports of similar alligator attacks on the lake. Crowds cheered as he collected venom from the snakes in dramatic displays. I regretfully declined. Adrian Zorzut; Published: 14:52, 10 Nov 2022; Updated: 16:08, 10 Nov 2022; When asked if Disney was aware of alligators on the property, Wahaler advised there were signs that said no swimming. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Now 39, he is a member of the rescue department's anti-venin unit that rushes to inject those bitten by a poisonous snake. I believe that it was one of the great thrills of my life. "He was a really nice man with a big heart," said his grand-niece Michelle Haast of Miami. Everyone sold them to the Serpentarium for $1.25/Ft, good money in those days. I recently saw Mr. Hasst on wild kingdon with Jack Hanna (aired 1997 maybe). I couldn't take the anti-venom so Dr. Haast instructed the hospital on how to treat me. I well remember Bill Haast and his snake "milking" shows. It is one stop from the Magic Kingdom Park and the Seven Seas Lagoon is popular with water lovers and boating enthusiasts. [The search] is still very active and [the] chopper keeps circling, he said. Sheriff Demings said this type of thing had never happened before in Disneys 45 years of operations. On Thursday, members of the rescue unit came to shake Haast's hand. An eight-year-old boy in Costa Rica was brutally dragged underwater and mauled to death by a crocodile in front of his horrified parents. He introduced himself as Col. Spencer, I introduced myself as "I'm Mark and could my brother Dick come too?" I also remember hearing a story about him saving the lives of GI`s in Vietnam who had jumped from a helicopter into some poisonous snakes. At the time of the TV airing Mr. Haast was 87 years old and quite handsome he looked no older that early 50s. They gave me nightmares. Shaman Killed by Crocodile Horror Stories 812K subscribers Subscribe 27K Save 741K views 3 years ago Notice Age-restricted video (based on Community Guidelines) Almost yours: 2 weeks, on us. I contacted him while the car was in shop and $2200.00 later it was mine. Sheriff Demings said the father suffered from minor scratches on his hands and believed the mother also entered the water at one point in a desperate attempt to retrieve their child. I live in Sarasota now and totally enjoy the water, I think those times are responceable.