A Disney World visitor has been found dead at the park in an “apparent suicide,” according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
The Illinois woman has been reported missing from her home more than a thousand miles away just hours before the discovery was made.
The Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 31-year-old Summer Equitz of Naperville, 30 miles west of Chicago.
According to a medical report seen by Click Orlando, she died from “multiple blunt impact injuries.” A further investigation into the death is ongoing.
Emergency services responded to the Contemporary Resort hotel, located near the Magic Kingdom in the park, on Tuesday night after other guests reported seeing a dead body.
Theories about the sudden death swirled on social media, with many users initially claiming that the monorail had hit Equitz.
However, local authorities have vehemently denied the rumors.
“This is an apparent suicide,” a representative from the OCSO told People magazine. They added that the guest “was not struck by the monorail, so that is erroneous information.”
Disney’s monorail service, the third busiest monorail system globally, runs directly through the Contemporary Resort hotel. Over 150,000 passengers use the service daily, according to WDW Magic.
Despite the victim not being struck by the monorail, the train service was halted in both directions while authorities attended the scene, according to Inside the Magic.
Footage shared on social media showed emergency services erecting a white pop-up tent on the hotel terrace, following the incident. Police cars can be seen gathering in the car park below.
Shortly before reports of Equitz’s death at the Contemporary Resort were made public, a Reddit user claiming to be her relative shared a post expressing concern about the Disney fan.
In the now-deleted thread, the relative claimed that Equitz had flown to Disney from Naperville, Illinois, “without telling us.”
According to her post on the Yorba Linda Spotlight Theater blog, Equitz was a Disney superfan. She wrote that Beauty and the Beast is her “favourite Disney show of all time” and that her “dream role” to play would be the film’s heroine, Belle.
On one of her social media accounts, she shared a photograph of herself with Disney CEO Bob Iger in April 2021.
The Independent has approached the OCSO, the Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Walt Disney Company for comment.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans in confidence on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
