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Man's body found at Disney World; sixth death at Disney properties in recent months
Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in Disney Springs, a shopping center in the Florida amusement park, over the weekend.
Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found at Walt Disney World over the weekend. This marks the sixth reported death at Disney World properties since October, according to reports from the New York Post and The Independent.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to Disney Springs, a shopping and dining district within the Orlando resort, shortly before 9 pm on Friday local time. The body was found near East Buena Vista Drive, police confirmed.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office said, “Deputies responded to the Disney Springs Orange Garage on East Buena Vista Drive and discovered a man who was deceased. This incident is being investigated as a possible suicide.”
Officials added that no further details would be released and said they did not expect to provide additional updates over the weekend.
A string of incidents since October
The latest death is the first reported at Disney World in the new year, but it follows a series of fatalities across Disney properties in recent months, most of them in Florida, according to the New York Post.
On October 14, 31-year-old Sumer Equitz, described as a Disney superfan, was found dead at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in what authorities said appeared to be a suicide.
Days later, on October 21, a man in his 60s died from a medical episode on a trail at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
On October 23, 28-year-old Matthew Alec Cohn died in an apparent suicide after falling from an upper floor of a Disney hotel.
Read More: Disney monorail accident: Was there a death at the Contemporary Resort? What we know
Additional deaths were reported in early November, including one at Disney’s Pop Century Resort and another at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista.
The broader pattern of these incidents at Disney properties began earlier in October in Anaheim, California. A woman in her 60s was found unresponsive on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Law enforcement agencies have stressed that each incident is investigated separately and have declined to provide further information in the most recent case.
