A paranormal investigator who was helping lead a national tour of the allegedly haunted Annabelle doll has suddenly died over the weekend.
On Tuesday, the New England Society for Psychic Research announced the “sudden” passing of 54-year-old Dan Rivera, the organization’s lead paranormal investigator and army veteran.
Rivera’s death occurred on Sunday during his visit to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he was leading the Devils on the Run Tour. As part of the tour, Rivers and other NESPR members were bringing the supposedly haunted Raggedy Ann doll across multiple states.
The doll, which was popularized through the 2013 horror movie The Conjuring and its subsequent franchise, was first purchased in 1970 from a hobby store by a mother and given to her daughter, a nursing student, in Connecticut.
Annabelle was reported to have moved around on its own, leaving notes and “psychic slashes” on victims. The doll was subsequently given over to the late paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren who kept it in their occult museum based in Monroe, Connecticut.
Rivera, who said that Lorraine Warren had mentored him, told participants gathered at Gettysburg’s Soldiers National Orphanage over the weekend about the precautions he had taken to protect them from the doll’s supposed hauntings.
“What Lorraine would say to protect yourself … is to close your eyes and envision yourself in a halo of white light,” Rivera told participants, the Evening Sun reports.
In a statement to the outlet, Francis Dutrow, the Adams county coroner, F confirmed that as of Tuesday afternoon, Rivera’s cause of death remains undetermined pending an autopsy. According to county dispatch scanner archives reviewed by the Evening Sun, firefighters and medical personnel responded to a call at a Gettysburg hotel after 8pm on Sunday “for a report of CPR in progress on a male patient of Rivera’s age”.
The coroner’s office further added that Rivera’s death was not suspicious and that he was found alone in his hotel room, the Evening Sun reports.
In its statement online, NESPR mourned Rivera’s death, saying: “His integrity, creativity and generosity defined him. Dan’s passion for the paranormal was rooted in a genuine desire to educate, help and connect with others – whether through social media, conventions or investigations with local families seeking understanding and peace.”
“As we navigate the days ahead, we want to share that although we do not know what the future of NESPR will look like without Dan, we do plan to move forward with the events previously scheduled for this year. We believe with all our hearts that Dan would have wanted the work to continue – bringing people together, sharing knowledge, and honoring the memory of Ed & Lorraine Warren,” the organization added.
The Guardian has reached out for a comment from Rivera’s family.