Officials have confirmed that the third death at Walt Disney World this month, and the second taking place at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, has been officially ruled a suicide.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat with a trained counselor through the Lifeline website. In an emergency, call 911 or visit the nearest hospital.
Death at Bay Lake Tower
We reported on Thursday that emergency personnel were present outside Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, but officials were not able to confirm at the time what happened. Multiple police vehicles, a fire truck, and an ambulance were reportedly onsite, and select entrances to Bay Lake Tower were temporarily closed. Scaffolding and towel carts were installed/used to block the scene from onlookers. A small white tent was evidently set up as well, and other personnel were also on scene to assist.
Guests at the resort were reportedly “told by Cast Members not to look out from their balconies as staff tried to shield the response teams.”
All emergency personnel were seemingly gone by 1 p.m. when WDWNT arrived at the scene. Nearby Cast Members mentioned something had happened at the resort, but did not share any details.
A few days later, officials confirmed that a guest had died at the resort on Thursday, October 23. However, media at the time reported that the guest’s death was likely caused due to a medical emergency.
In a more recent update from The New York Post, it has been confirmed that this more recent death at Bay Lake Tower was a suicide. The guest has been identified as Matthew Cohn, 28. As per a statement to The Post from the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office, “At this time, we can confirm that the manner of death was ruled suicide; cause of death: multiple traumatic injuries.”
Also at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, guest Summer Equitz died of apparent suicide on October 14. Despite social media reports that she was hit by a Monorail, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed this was not true.
Both events are seemingly unrelated.
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