Body discovered at Disney World as sixth dying reported on property in 4 months

A sixth person has been found dead at the so-called ‘happiest place on Earth’, Walt Disney World, in recent months.

Officials from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office reported receiving a call about a body shortly before 9pm on Friday at the Orange Garage of Disney Springs, a shopping and dining district within the park, according to Click Orlando.

“This incident is being investigated as a possible suicide,” stated the sheriff’s office, adding no further details would be released over the weekend. Authorities are now contemplating a complete closure of the Disney Springs area to ensure visitor safety and to conduct a thorough forensic investigation, as per the Inside the Magic blog.

This shocking death marks the sixth fatality at the theme park in just four months. The first was reported on October 14, when Disney superfan Summer Equitz, 31, tragically took her own life at the Contemporary Resort Hotel.

Her cause of death was determined as multiple blunt impact injuries, with no additional information provided by the medical examiner. Equitz, who had visited Disney World for her honeymoon, had travelled to the resort from Illinois without informing her family prior to her death.

Just days later, on October 21, an unidentified 60-year-old man passed away after experiencing a medical episode at the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. He had been travelling with his wife, who discovered him unresponsive.

The Nurse Anesthetists’ report, reviewed by People, did not include a cause of death, but noted that he suffered from hypertension and end-stage liver disease.

Aspiring NFL referee Matthew Cohn, 28, also died by suicide at the same hotel as Equitz on October 23. He reportedly jumped from a balcony.

A fourth holidaymaker passed away in the early hours of November 2 – a woman in her 40s who was found unresponsive at the Pop Century Resort.

The site is home to a budget hotel themed around 20th-century American pop culture, which is connected to Epcot and Hollywood Studios by the Skyliner, a gondola lift system that links multiple theme parks and resorts to one another.

She was later pronounced dead in hospital, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told the Daily Mail at the time. There were no signs of foul play.

Then, on November 8, another unidentified traveller passed away at the Saratoga Springs Resort.

A social media account monitoring emergency calls at Walt Disney World said at the time that there was a “person down” reported at 3.18pm that day, but minutes later, shared an update that the status of the investigation changed to “dead person”.

The Daily Star has contacted Disney World for comment.

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