Tragic Ends: Disneyland Suicide Jumper Is Third at Resort in Less Than a Year
The third person to commit suicide at a Disneyland parking garage in the past year jumped to his death on Wednesday.
The incident took place at the mammoth Pixar Pals parking garage, which was closed as police investigated the death.
A man later identified as Jonah Alexander Edwards, 24, was found dead at the scene, according to the Orange County Register.
Anaheim Police were summoned to the theme park at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Anaheim Police spokesman Sgt. Jon McClintock.
Police said they are investigating the death as a suicide.
Third suicide in less than a year at Disneyland parking garages https://t.co/PHUbjmGE3T
— O.C. Register (@ocregister) November 16, 2023
The Orange County Coroner’s office made the identification, according to Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Frank Gonzalez.
Disneyland officials did not comment on the death. Police have released no further details.
Disneyland visitors whose cars were in the garage were forced to wait in the Mickey and Friends parking lot until the parking garage could be reopened, according to U.K.’s Daily Mail.
Disneyland has been the site of six suicides since 2010, with three taking place since December 2022. Two of the three were at the Mickey and Friends parking garage, according to the Daily Mail.
In February, Marney Schoenfeld, 46, of Scottsdale, Arizona, died at the parking garage.
In December, Christopher Christensen, who had been a Huntington Beach elementary school principal and was facing charges of misdemeanor child endangerment and battery, leaped to his death.
Another person committed suicide by jumping from the Disneyland parking structure. @Disneyland should be held accountable for this and others. They can easily make those structures to where people cannot jump from them. This has been happening since 2010. What is taking so long?
— Broadcast Rick (@BrdcastMediaGuy) November 17, 2023
Suicide rates are on the rise, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Between 2000 and 2021, suicide rates rose 36 percent, the CDC said. The CDC said suicide was linked to 48,183 deaths in 2021.
The CDC’s figures say suicidal thoughts are far higher. It estimated that in 2021, 12.3 million American adults gave suicide some serious thought.
Of those, about 3.5 million made plans to take their own lives, while 1.7 million Americans tried to kill themselves. For people aged 10-14 and 20-34, suicide is the second-leading cause of death, according to the CDC.
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