Dan Rivera, a 54-year-old paranormal investigator, was discovered dead in his Gettysburg hotel room earlier this week, just hours after leading a sold-out ghost tour at the haunted Soldiers National Orphanage. The event, titled Devils on the Run Tour, featured the infamous Annabelle doll, believed by many to be cursed, as per The New York Post.
In a chilling twist, Adams County Coroner Francis Dutrow revealed that the Annabelle doll was missing from Rivera’s room when first responders arrived on Sunday night. Rivera, a U.S. Army veteran, had been touring with the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) — originally founded by renowned investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren — to showcase the haunted artifact.
The cause of death remains unclear, pending autopsy results. Police reported “nothing unusual or suspicious” at the scene, but conspiracy theories are swirling, with many linking Rivera’s death to the cursed relic. NESPR claims the tour will continue in Rivera’s honor, but if the missing doll reports are accurate, a suspension may be inevitable.
Annabelle has a dark history. First linked to paranormal activity in 1970, the doll reportedly moved on its own, followed people, and caused harmful incidents — including allegedly stabbing a police officer and being connected to a car crash involving a priest. It was later placed in a Connecticut museum by the Warrens.
If the doll is truly missing, its whereabouts — and its legacy — remain a mystery.