The body of a missing, pregnant, 31-year-old woman has been found at the Orlando Walt Disney World resort.
Summer Equitz was known for being a Disney theme park superfan, to such an extent that she was employed as a performer and host by the brand between 2012 and 2015.
She also celebrated her honeymoon at the Orlando complex in 2024, and now local law enforcement is saying she took her own life at the resort’s Contemporary Hotel.
Highlights
- Summer Equitz, 31, traveled alone to Disney World without notifying her family.
- A relative raised an alarm in a now-deleted post on Reddit’s r/DisneyWorld.
- Equitz was found deceased at the Contemporary Resort two days later.
The recovery of her body came two days after an unnamed relative took to Reddit’s r/DisneyWorld, claiming that Equitz had flown to the Orlando resort without telling anyone.
Police have since asserted that Summer Equitz was not hit by a train
Image credits: Unsplash/Younho Choo
In the now-deleted post, she called on anyone who had seen Equitz to contact the police, as she had “booked a flight there without telling us.”
The mystery unraveled on September 15, just after 6:40 p.m. local time, when the Orange County Sheriff’s Department received a call about a body.
Image credits: Facebook/Summer Equitz
The news gave rise to speculation that Equitz had been hit by one of the monorail trains that run through the Contemporary Resort, but authorities quickly quelled rumors, asserting that Equitz had taken her own life.
Local outlet News6 reported that officials have since described her passing as the result of “multiple blunt impact injuries.”
While police remain tight-lipped, eyewitness accounts suggest the 31-year-old jumped from a high area
Image credits: Disney World
While not specifying how said injuries were sustained, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office stated to Entertainment Weekly that it was “apparent” that she had taken her own life.
They emphasized that Equitz “was NOT struck by the monorail, so that is erroneous information,” referring to internet rumors.
Be that as it may, an outlet covering theme parks, Inside the Magic, reported that train service in both directions has been shut down.
And while police remain tight-lipped, said outlet has gone as far as to quote witnesses saying Equitz jumped from “a high point into a viewing area.”
The police investigation is expected to look for evidence of foul play
Image credits: Facebook/Summer Equitz
The outlet went on to say that the investigation led by the police will draw on the cooperation of Disney security.
Investigators can be expected to review CCTV footage to establish the woman’s “point of departure”—the balcony, window, or landing she jumped or fell from.
Image credits: Facebook/Summer Equitz
They will also look out for signs of foul play, backtrack to how and where Equitz’s body was found, and how the resort handled the discovery.
They can also be expected to track down eyewitnesses.
The Contemporary resort, where Equitz passed away, has been the site of many such incidents
Image credits: Facebook/Summer Equitz
Equitz, an Illinois native who was known for her fascination with Disney, is one of many to lose their lives at the Orlando resort.
Jim Hill of the Disney Dish podcast has been paying attention to the trend. Speaking to the New York Post in 2022, he observed:
“There’s this weird phenomenon where people who are severely depressed but want to have that one last good happy family memory will go to Walt Disney World.”
“They’ll deliberately book a room at the Contemporary Resort, which is 14 stories tall. And after that happy family time, they will throw themselves off the building.”
The Disney Resort in Anaheim, California, has seen the same incident repeat itself five times in the last 15 years
Image credits: Facebook/Summer Equitz
It is worth noting that these incidents are not exclusive to the Orlando, Florida, complex. One memorable case that roiled Disney’s Anaheim complex in California was the 2023 passing of 46-year-old hairstylist Marney Schoenfeld, per San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
The mother of one was the fifth to lose her life after falling/jumping from the same multi-story car park.
Those who went before her included men aged 61, 23, and 40, and an elementary school principal named Chris Christensen (who jumped from the multi-story structure while the subject of child exploitation charges) in 2010, 2011, 2016, and 2022, respectively, per Deadline.
The most recent passing at the complex was credited to a medical episode
Image credits: Facebook/Summer Equitz
More recently, a woman in her sixties was found deceased on a ride after it exited the Anaheim complex’s Horror Mansion.
Her passing has, however, been attributed to a medical episode.
Disney fans were shocked by the news
