Guest Dies at Luxury Resort
Causes of Death Vary, Including Falls and Pre-existing Conditions
Within less than a month, five guests have died in succession at the Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
According to reports from the New York Post and others on the 19th (local time), the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office announced that on the 8th, an unidentified guest died at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The news of the death was first reported through the social media service X (formerly Twitter) account “Walt Disney World: Active Calls,” which provides real-time updates on police dispatches.
On the afternoon of the 8th at 3:18 p.m., a post appeared on this account stating, “A person has collapsed at Saratoga Springs Resort.” The following day, the post was updated to say that the individual had died. Saratoga Springs Resort, where the fatality occurred, is a luxury accommodation featuring multiple swimming pools and a spa. According to the official website, the nightly rate can be up to $2,300.
The circumstances of the death have not been disclosed. Joshua Stephany, Chief Medical Examiner for Orange and Osceola Counties, stated that this case does not fall under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner’s office according to Florida state law. The office added, “There was a fatal incident, but we have decided not to exercise jurisdiction,” and noted that the body was released to the deceased’s personal physician. Disney World has also not revealed further details about the cause of death.
The issue is that there have already been four other fatal incidents in the past month. As a result, local observers have pointed out that “the amount of information released is far too limited given the seriousness of these consecutive deaths.”
The first of these deaths occurred on October 14. At that time, Summer Eckitz, age 31, was found dead at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The medical examiner classified the incident as a suicide and stated the cause of death was “multiple blunt force injuries due to a fall.” There were rumors circulating on social media that Eckitz had been struck by a monorail, but authorities denied this. However, the specific circumstances at the time of death and the reasons leading to the fall are still under investigation.
A week after this incident, on October 21, a man in his 60s died from an underlying medical condition at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. Two days later, on October 23, Matthew Alec Cohen, a 28-year-old aspiring football referee from Los Angeles, died after jumping from the 12th floor of Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort. Then, on November 2, a woman in her 40s was found unconscious at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. She was transported to the hospital but ultimately passed away. Authorities stated that there were “no signs of foul play” in her death.
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